Devil Inside
by YoungestCullen8
Summary: Sequel to Omicron Pack: Stiles has fully taken on his role as soul mate. He and Thierry are still working on the murders among other things. When an old friend of the Hales comes to town, he isn't sure. That insecurity runs over into his family. Stiles has to protect his family at all costs, even if that means he hurts them. R
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is the sequel to Omicron Pack. I had an idea pop into my head as I was finishing the last chapter of the other story. I hope you like this as much as you liked the other.

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Stiles skipped- yes, he skipped- through the parking lot to the police station. He was on fall break and he was extremely happy about that. He had two days of rest from school. Then there was the weekend but it was still a break. It meant he could rest. Well, that's what his dad thought. He thought his son was going to rest and get his homework done. Stiles was going to get his homework done, but there was something else he was going to get done as well.

There had been another murder a couple of days ago and once again it was a kid they knew. Stiles was scared it would happen to him so he tried to stay with his friends as much as possible. The pack would stay at Derek's place for days on end. They would always go over for dinner and watch movies or play games. He remembered a trying game of Twister, but that was another story.

Things with the pack were better. Cora and Boyd had integrated back into the pack rather well. Derek had taken his role as big brother very seriously. He and Cora fought all the time but underneath all the hostility, they were family. They were blood and that was all that meant to Derek. Peter had also figured out where he belonged even though he had initially told Derek to kill Cora.

Though they were human, Stiles and Lydia had a place in Derek's pack. Lydia was still trying to figure out how she had survived an Alpha attack and what her abilities mean. Stiles was just humans. They just teamed up and worked on different things. But the highlight of their part in the pack is the werewolves the worked with. Allison, the other human, could be pack but she was also a hunter so Derek was a little skeptical. She and Scott still had an awkward situation but they made it work.

Stiles opened the door to the police station and walked in. The station was still the same but it was cleaner than it had been when Matt was shooting and killing people. His dad sure he kept the place as clean as he possibly could.

As he walked to the front desk, he saw Andy. The officer had come in after the other desk clerk had been killed by Matt and the Kanima. Andy also helped his dad with the murders that were going on.

Stiles drummed his hands on the desk. "Hey, Andy."

The clerk looked up. "Hey, Stiles. What can I do for you?"

"Is Terrence here?"

"He's in the back."

Stiles walked into the break room and found his favorite blond headed man pouring himself a cup of coffee. Terrence was new in the pack. He and his sister had come in a few about three months ago to help with the Alpha Pack. They had done a lot of good and shed a lot of light on the fact that the pack wasn't as strong as they were. They had grown up in a pack in one of the plains states. They knew how to hunt and how to manage their time. Dominance was a big thing for them. It defined who they were.

When they had first come in, their dominance had played a major part in how they dealt with things. Being twins, they had gone things together their entire live and had known they were going to need help. They had called in their cousin and friend for help.

But that hadn't been the fun part. Stiles and Lydia had found they were soul mates to the twins. It was different than regular mates, or lovers. They were immune to the dominance that would bring a werewolf and even normal humans to their knees. But they two of them were able to stand up to them and calm them down. The only thing that stood above them was a mate. They really didn't care.

Terrence turned around and smiled. "Hey, Stiles. What's up?"

"Nothing much. Just wondering if you're going to be off in time for the pack meeting tonight?" he asked as he plopped himself down in the plastic chair by the table.

"I think I had to work a double for Carson tonight. I'll have to check but I'm quite certain. Have you found anything else besides what you and my sister found?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. It's still the same thing. I can't help but think there's a piece missing. Why would a human make virgin sacrifices?"

"The same reason a werewolf would make them. It's probably for power. It's usually always for power."

"What power would someone want?"

Terrence looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Well, in this town it would be to control werewolves."

"Wouldn't that include you and your sister?"

"There are some things Thi and I are immune to. Magic is not one of them."

"There's magic in the world?" He received a droll stare from one of his good friends and it brought a smile to his face. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself. It was just too easy to pass up."

Terrence shook his head. "If I find anything else, I'll let you know. But I think you should know that you're in the best hands with Thi. She knows more about this stuff than I do. She was always interested in the inner workings of other societies."

"All right. I'll ask her some more tonight. Is she working tomorrow?"

"I think so. I think she's working with your dad."

Stiles drummed his hands on the table. "Thanks. I'll see you at home."

Terrence saluted him with his coffee cut. Stiles left the station to head to the train station. Derek had converted the station into an apartment that his pack could come to in times of crisis or just to hang out. Food was ever abundant and no one had to knock for entrance. It was an open door policy no matter what time of day.

He figured he'd need to bring something to the meeting tonight. There was going to be a big meal made because when pack meetings happened everyone liked to eat. Everyone liked to eat anyway, but pack meetings were always the worst times. They all tried to talk over each other. Sometimes it worked. Other times it started a fight. It all just depended on who said what and how it was said.

Figuring in everyone's love for chocolate, Stiles dropped by the bakery and picked up a chocolate cake. It was a triple Dutch chocolate cake which meant everyone was going to be fighting over the last piece. It always happened and it always would. It was the way the family worked.

With the cake sitting in his front seat, he made his way to the warehouse district where Derek lived. The first floor had been remodeled into a garage. Derek owned two cars that he needed to store without anyone finding them and Isaac had a car he inherited from his deceased father. The garage could hold more than that, but Boyd and Cora didn't have a car, Scott lived with his mom, and Peter lived across town. Sometimes it held Terrence's SUV when he showed up and stayed around.

He pulled into the open side bay door and closed it after he parked. No one in town really knew that Derek had taken over the old depot. It had been abandoned for years so he thought why not make use of it. It had enough room for the entire pack since he made it a five bedroom flat.

He walked up the stairs, cursing the fact that Derek was able to make it into five bedrooms but couldn't install an elevator. Even one of the manual kinds would be better than nothing. He finally made it to the main room. He was slightly winded even though he was in shape from playing lacrosse. Well, he didn't play lacrosse per se. He sat on the bench most of the season.

"Hey, Stiles," Allison called from behind the table. She was playing cards with Scott and Lydia. "We got here an hour ago. What took you so long?"

"I went to the station to see Terrence," he replied.

"Is he coming?" Lydia asked. She was Terrence's soul mate. She was the only one who could be around him when the full moon hit and he changed. His dominance didn't affect her.

"No, he's got to pull a double. Carson's still on his honeymoon." He turned towards the refrigerator. He looked at it then to the couple standing in front of it. "Do you have to be so sappy?"

Derek turned his head to look at him. "You don't have to be here, you know."

Stiles made a face. "Thierry, please tell him it's my job to make sure you're not injured."

The woman in question held her hands up, knife included, in surrender. "I have no dog in this fight. Pun intended."

Both guys grunted at that. Thierry was Terrence's younger twin sister. She was also more dominant than Derek, but due to the fact that she was his mate, she was second in command to him. To make Derek even more annoyed was the fact that Stiles was right. It technically was his job to make sure she was safe. He was her soul mate, meaning he was like Lydia. He was the only immune to her dominance. Not even Derek was that lucky.

Thierry also happened to live with Stiles but most of the time stayed with Derek. John, Stiles' dad, and Terrence didn't really say anything because she was twenty-six. The twins had just had a birthday. Derek was a year younger (they had found that out from Cora that he was lying about his age) and the others were nine to ten years younger. It was perfectly normal for a couple their age to live together.

To make his point Derek grabbed his girlfriend's face and kissed her. Thierry knew exactly what he was doing. She let him have his moment then so ever gently wedged the knife in her hand against his throat. Derek had the brains to back away or risk having the blade jab him in the Adam's apple. Stiles snorted, covered his mouth, and looked away to keep from laughing out loud.

"Are you done being Mr. Sour Wolf?" she asked.

Derek nodded ever so slightly. "I think I'm good."

"Good." She pulled the knife away and stared him in the eyes. "Get this in the oven."

Stiles turned around on his stool. "How long has this been going on?"

"Since I got here this afternoon," Isaac said as he stared at Lydia's cards over her shoulder. "They were arguing about whether or not they needed a third SUV."

"Why?" Scott asked as he played his card. "They have yours."

Allison played her card and turned around so fast she nearly toppled her chair. "You're not pregnant are you?"

Every head turned to Thierry, even Derek's. He was biting his fingernail as he read a book on the counter. Thierry kept right on chopping the vegetables that would be steamed. Ever since Stiles had told her that her diet sucked, she had done a lot better.

She looked at Allison. "No, I'm not pregnant. Derek and I don't have as much sex as you and Scott."

This time it was Derek who had to hold back his laughter. He used his hand to cover his mouth as he dropped his head. Allison's face turned bright red and Scott scratched the back of his head as he played the next card.

Stiles smiled at his family. They were loud, catty, and overbearing but they were his. He had risked his life countless times for them, and he would continue now that his role of soul mate had made him highly aware of what went on in the pack.

Derek tossed a crouton his direction then snapped at the bowl in front of him. Stiles looked down then grabbed the vinaigrette in front of him. He made a face when he realized it was raspberry. He liked fruit but raspberry was on his do not touch list. He set it back on the counter and shook his head.

"Are you going to smash my head into the counter like you did my steering wheel?" he challenged.

He knew Derek wouldn't because Thierry was standing right beside him. Thierry may be Derek's mate, but the bond she had with Stiles was on par with hers with Derek. The last person to do something stupid was Andy at the police station. He had tried to keep Stiles from seeing his dad after the last murder. He had pulled on his arm roughly. Stiles had never seen a female werewolf nearly lose her cool before but he'd had to grab Thierry before she ripped the man's head off. Andy was still afraid of her to this day. When she walked into the station he cowered behind the desk.

Thierry grabbed the other bottle from behind her and placed it on the counter. This was better so Stiles smeared the contents of the bottle on the salad and tossed it. A few minutes later the oven dinged and Derek pulled the chicken from the oven. Mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and green beans, and rolls followed the heavenly smelling food to the table.

The ones playing cards had cleared the table of their game and had set the table. Thierry called Peter from the other room. He tended to stay away from the teenagers when they were all in the house. That was most of the time. It was Thierry's rule that the pack ate together on the nights pack meetings were held. The twins tended to break that rule when they had to work but they were the only ones. One of them cooked every time the pack had a meeting so it made everyone a little happier to be together. Even Peter was a little more tolerable after he ate.

It was a normal affair. Everyone talked over each other so they could get what they wanted. The rolls were gone within five seconds. Green beans floated around everyone's faces as they filled their plates. They settled into their normal routine. Everyone talked about things that no one really cared about.

When dinner was done and all the food was demolished, everyone pitched in to clean up. Scott and Allison washed and dried dishes, Lydia and Isaac wiped down the table and counters, Boyd and Cora pulled out the dessert of the fridge along with plates, and Peter made coffee. It was the general consensus that when Thierry and Derek made dinner everyone else cleaned up. It was the way of the pack.

When everything was done, they all ventured into the living room. Derek had gone all out when he was done renovating the station. The place had five bedrooms. Derek, Cora, and Boyd had their own rooms, leaving the remaining two rooms as guest rooms. Each room had their own bathroom and a big enough closet to run everyone out of town. The first floor was the garage and the basement was once the subway line. It had been converted to a safe room during full moons. The living room, kitchen, weight room, and game room were on the second floor, which is where they were now.

The living room had a huge sectional and a recliner. They all flopped down in their normal spots and waited for Derek to take his spot in the recliner. Forks clicked on plates as the chocolate cake disappeared as well. Instead of sitting in the chair like he normally would, Derek stood in front and to the side of it. Thierry took the chair and propped her chin up on her hand.

"Do we know anything else about the murders?" Derek asked. The question was directed towards Stiles and Thierry.

"No, not yet. I still have some things I'm checking out," Thierry replied. "I may have an idea but it will take a little bit for me to piece it all together."

"What do you have now?" Scott asked.

"Besides the threefold death symptoms?" Stiles asked. Everyone nodded their heads. "There has been no residue or anything that would tell us who was in the vicinity when the murders happened. We know they weren't killed by werewolves, but we don't know if they were killed by humans or humans working for werewolves."

Stiles let that sink in. Then he looked at Thierry. There was something she was working on that only he knew about. He had gone with her on a couple of her trips simply because Derek would have pulled rank.

Derek followed Stiles' gaze, turned sideways, and watched the silent conversation go on between the two. In the last few weeks he had learned to watch the way their body language spoke to each other.

"What is it?" he asked.

Stiles made a face and Thierry shook her head. There were some things she had to keep to herself because Derek would get angry. He had mellowed a little but not much when it came to Thierry.

"What is it?" he reiterated agitatedly.

"Thierry's been going to see the twins," Stiles said.

Derek's eyebrows rose and he set his mouth. "You've been what?" Like the dominant wolf she was, Thierry raised her eyebrows once then relaxed back into the chair. "You haven't bothered to tell me why?"

"Because you would do this. It doesn't really matter. They don't know anything."

"That's not the point. The point is you went behind my back and did this without my knowledge. They could kill you."

"They won't kill me. Not after what I've found out."

"Then tell us." Thierry shook her head. He crossed his arms and huffed. "Why not?"

"There are some secrets that aren't mine to tell."

The rest of the pack watched as the Alpha and his mate had a staring contest. Thierry didn't argue with Derek often but when she did, it was usually something important to her. Stiles was always going to back Thierry no matter what she did. He was still slightly scared of Derek but he wouldn't hurt him.

The pack meeting went on without an argument. Derek bowed out of a huge blowup with Thierry. Months ago, he would have snapped the woman's head off. But he had learned that dominance had its givings and misgivings. Thierry's giving was that she could calm his anger because they were mates. Her misgivings were that she was more dominant than he was and it showed in some of the pack meetings. They had to step away from the pack to discuss things.

Stiles was slightly nervous when the meeting was called to a close. Derek walked into the kitchen to pour him a strong drink. Peter followed him. Thierry stood and was heading to the kitchen when he caught her.

"Was that a smart idea?" he asked.

"Probably not but it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't opened your big mouth," she replied. He looked like a fish as he tried to get his voice to work. Thierry stopped him from talking. "Don't worry about it. I'll deal with it. Go on home. Your dad will be getting off soon. Make sure he and Terrence eat."

"Terrence isn't getting off until six tomorrow morning."

"Still. Go home."

He watched her for a few more moments then turned to grab his bag. When he looked at her, she was looking into the kitchen. Derek and Peter must have been talking and she was listening in. He said goodbye to her but only got a wave in reply. She was definitely eavesdropping. So to make sure she knew he was serious about leaving, he walked up and brushed the back of his hand against hers as he said goodbye to Derek. She got the message then.

"See you, Stiles," she said.

Glad that he got her attention, Stiles waved at the remainder of the pack on his way out of the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Once again Stiles found himself at the station after school. Thierry was working while Terrence had his day off. He was sleeping undoubtedly.

As he walked in Andy simply pointed to the back office. He was still scared of the younger Alexander twin. Thierry left an impression after she met someone. Andy just happened to be the one she intimidated the most in the station.

She was talking to his dad when he got into the office. Dressed in jeans and a button down shirt, she was the only one in the station who didn't adhere to the dress code. It was probably because she was so little that none of the uniforms fit her. That and his dad didn't force her to adhere to many of the rules, especially when he found out she was dating Derek Hale.

They were deep in conversation when he knocked on the doorframe. They both glanced up and had different reactions. John waved his son in. Thierry looked up and smiled but her eyes were blue. Stiles made a noise in the back of his throat. He could feel the wolf on the surface.

"Are you sure they're connected like this?" John asked. "It doesn't make sense."

"When do murders ever make sense?" Thierry replied.

John conceded the point and looked up at his son. "What can I do for you, Stiles?"

"I brought the files Thierry called for," he replied. He rummaged in his backpack and came out with the folders. "I found them on the table this morning. I grabbed them just as she called me."

He handed them over and waited awkwardly as she looked them over. She frowned at what he had written on the first page. Then her head jerked to the side slightly and he knew he was losing her.

There was a commotion in the front. Andy raised his voice and Caroline's followed. Then Derek's entered the mix and everything went to hell. Derek shrugged off Andy as he appeared in the doorway. He stared at the deputy for a full two minutes. Thierry wasn't the only one who could scare Andy senseless. Finally he turned to them.

"What are you doing here, Hale?" John asked as he stood. His voice was like acid as he looked at one of the most misunderstood men in Beacon Hills.

"It's lunch time," he said.

Stiles laughed at Derek's simple answer. It was a standing tradition that Derek had started when Thierry returned. Stiles was able to go when he wasn't in school. Usually they talked pack business. Sometimes they talked about things that Stiles really didn't want to know.

John sighed and looked at his son. "Are you really going with them?"

Stiles looked between his father and friends. Derek was annoyed and waiting for an answer. Thierry just shrugged. She knew he was going to come anyway. So he looked back at his dad.

"Yeah, I'm going. I'll see you later," he said.

His dad sighed and waved them off. They walked back to the front of the station. Derek jumped at Andy. The officer nearly had a heart attack as he slammed his chair into the wall. His head followed. That was the last image Stiles had as he walked out of the building, Andy rubbing his head.

"That was uncalled for," Thierry said as they climbed in Derek's car.

"Andy's always been jumpy," Stiles replied. Neither werewolf answered him. He stuck his head between the seats and looked between them. "Who got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" immediately Thierry pointed at Derek. "That's not fair. He always gets up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Stiles," Derek growled, "sit back."

Doing what the man said, Stiles pulled out a notebook. "Before the two of you start in on the whole thing with the twins, can I ask a question?"

"If you must."

"Well, I know Thierry has explained this to me multiple times, but what the hell am I supposed to do as a soul mate?"

Thierry sighed and rested her head against the window. "The whole concept was born when a very dominant werewolf lost control of the wolf. It was something like when Cora and Boyd couldn't feel the moon. He killed anything and everything he saw. No one was safe, except one man. The wolf came to kill and destroy this man's family, but the man wouldn't have it. He walked out of his house to defend his family. The fight was brutal. The man was slung and tossed and bitten and scratched but he never backed down.

"Just when the wolf was about to slaughter the man, the man touched the wolf. Suddenly the wolf's eyes changed from the wolf's angry red to the human man's eyes. Something about the man's touch had triggered the change. The man's family was spared. It turned out the werewolf was actually the lord of the land. He brought the man and his family to the great house. When he introduced the man, he called him the mate of his soul. No one understood because the man was married, but they could see the bond the lord had with the man. It wasn't sexual; it was very deep and brotherly. It was like they could finish each other's sentences."

"What happened to the man?" Derek asked. Both Thierry and Stiles looked at him. He was listening as he drove to the diner they always went to.

Thierry shook her head and smiled to the window. "The werewolf and the man lived well into old age. However where the wolf could live a very long life, the man could not. One night, the man got sick and died, leaving three sons and four daughters. As his dying wish, he asked the wolf to take care of his family. The wolf, distraught at losing his best friend and other half of his soul, promised to do whatever he could. So when the man died, the lord took in his family. The wanted for naught and until this day the families remained close."

"It doesn't explain what Lydia and I are supposed to do," Stiles said.

"You're not supposed to do anything."

He frowned. "Okay… I'm lost."

She turned around to look at him. "Stiles, look at my eyes. What color are they?"

He leaned forward so he could get a better look. "They're green? They were blue when I walked into the station."

"They were blue because I was angry. I was angry at Terrence from this morning, I was angry at the case and I was angry at Derek." She pointed a finger at him when he opened his mouth. "Your father wasn't listening to what I was saying and it was making it worse. When you walked in, you literally saved him from getting his ass chewed out. Terrence and I can't hurt Lydia or you."

"So… I'm like a tamer or something?"

She thought about it for a minute. "That's a better way to describe it. It's instinctual to find a mate, or a lover. We do that to keep our numbers alive. I don't feel like changing a human because that's too troublesome. Plus I was born a werewolf. The difference is this. I will have sex with Derek. There's no chance in hell I will do that with you."

Derek barked out a laugh as he pulled into a parking spot at the diner. But Stiles picked up on the underlying message she was trying to tell him.

"When you told Scott that you and Derek were having less sex than he and Allison were, you meant that literally didn't you?" he asked. She made a face as they got out of the car. "Anyway. So if I'm a tamer, what all can I do?"

"Do you remember what you did when I had my shoulders dislocated?" she asked, and he nodded. "You were the only one in the room that could touch me and I wouldn't growl. Hell, I even let you near me as I was changing. The only person I ever allowed to do that was Terrence. Even then, I hurt my brother when I change on the full moon. I didn't hurt Derek too much on the full moon, but last full moon, what happened?"

"You let me touch you while you changed. I had to keep blowing in your nostrils just in case but…" He trailed off as she smiled at him. "Does this mean you won't ever leave Beacon Hills?"

"I'll leave if he does," she pointed at Derek, "but you'll always have a place wherever I am. Plus I think Derek will miss you if you disappeared."

Derek huffed as they sat down in their normal booth. The waitress didn't even have to ask what they wanted. She brought two waters and a Coke to their table then scribbled down their order, reciting it to make sure nothing had changed. When they nodded, she went to fill it.

Stiles laughed when he realized they came in here way too often if the waitress knew their order. The other two joined in for a moment then got down to business.

"Why didn't you tell me you had been accompanying her to see the twins?" Derek asked.

"Because he doesn't have to. That's a fun little aspect of the bond," Thierry replied. "He doesn't have to tell you anything I do."

Derek frowned at her but didn't refute it. It would have just ended in another fight and after the yelling match they'd had last night, he didn't want to get into it again. It had been so bad Thierry had gone back to the Stilinski house for the night. He had punched his wall in anger, leaving a huge hole. He had tried to call this morning but got her voice mail. That was when he decided lunch was the best place to talk, even if it meant Stiles was around to hear it.

"I still think you should have talked to me about it," he said.

She sighed and leaned back. "Why? You would have just told me no. I had a hunch about the twins. And I finally got it out of them."

"Thi, I'm Alpha of this pack. You're my mate. You have to back me up and listen to what I say. We may be able to discuss things if you bring them up to me before we get in the pack meetings."

"You didn't see the look in their eyes the night we locked them from the city. They looked…hopeless. I couldn't just walk away from that."

"They could still kill you."

She shook her head. "No, they won't. We leave packs at the door when we meet. There is no Alpha in the room and they haven't attacked Stiles when he goes."

"That in and of itself is one of the reasons you really shouldn't take him."

"Guys, stop this," Stiles said. They looked at him. "It isn't going to help. Derek, you don't want her to undermine your authority. Thierry, you want freedom to do what you feel is right. You have to find some common ground. Maybe go to one of these meetings together. I don't know. Something that will keep the two of you from fighting. Because if Deucalion sees you fighting, he's going to rip you to shreds."

Thierry took a deep breath. "Derek, I follow my gut. My instinct tells me to at least talk to the twins and find out what makes them tick and why they would join a sociopath."

Derek leaned back in his seat. He listened to her heartbeat even though he knew she wouldn't lie to him. When he was satisfied that she was done, he leaned forward and took her hand. He ran his thumb over the back of it in a soothing manner.

"Just next time tell me you're going, especially if you take Stiles with you," he said.

She smiled about the time the waitress brought their orders. Stiles drummed his hands on the table for two reasons. One, he was getting to eat and two, his friends had just come to an agreement. He dumped half the bottle of ketchup on his plate and attacked his fries.

All during lunch they talked about how the case was going. Thierry was still working on the murder investigation and it was still getting to her. No matter how hard they tried, there wasn't a way to tie the murders to anything supernatural. They wanted so desperately to tie them together but without a lead, they couldn't.

Derek was talking about making the gym a little bigger. He was insanely built but he wasn't going to give it up. He wanted everyone to start using it but Stiles was happy the way he was. When he said as much, Derek had laughed at him. He wasn't thinking about Stiles buffing up. He just wanted his pack to have a place to train. Stiles laughed at him and said they had the entire forested area of Beacon Hills to do that. Derek had thrown a fry at him.

They were halfway through lunch when something bad happened.

"Derek?"

Stiles' shoulders hunched as the feminine voice penetrated his ears. He looked next to him at Thierry. She was watching the door. He finally turned around to see his dad with two women. One was about his dad's age. The other was Derek and Thierry's age. Derek's face was a mixture of shock and disbelief. Mechanically he got up and hugged the girl.

"I can't believe you're still here," she said. "I thought you would have left after the fire."

"I did but I came back when I heard my uncle was okay. What are you doing here? I thought your family thought this place was too dangerous to live," he said. Derek rarely hugged people. This woman must have been someone important.

"We came back because my grandmother just died. We're finishing up things with the estate." She looked down at the two sitting with Derek. "Who are your friends?"

"This is my son Stiles and Derek's girlfriend Thierry Alexander," John said. "Son, this is Keilani Dylan and her mother Amelia."

Keilani was staring holes into Thierry. The other woman was staring right back. Stiles didn't know who to watch. Keilani looked as if she had seen a ghost and Thierry was about to wolf out. He didn't know how he knew but he just did. So he wouldn't be seen, he kicked Thierry's ankle and was rewarded by a low growl. Derek cut his eyes to them for a moment then back at the trio that was still talking to him. Stiles finally just grabbed Thierry's knee and the low hum was cut off. He felt his hand warm from her body heat. It wasn't until she covered his hand with hers did he let go. By that point Keilani had shifted her gaze back to Derek.

"What was that?" he whispered harshly.

"I got a bad feeling about her. I don't know why but I did. Something's not right with her," Thierry replied.

She tilted her head slightly and Stiles watched her eyes glow blue. He bit his lip as he realized she was using wolf powers to figure the girl out. It just wasn't fair. After a minute or so, her eyes returned to normal.

"What did you see?" he asked.

"I'll explain once we're back at the station. This is too open a place for something like that to be taken seriously," she answered.

"Are you going to tell Derek?"

They both looked at him. He was deep in conversation with the two women. While he was talking, Thierry used a pen from her pocket to draw something on a napkin. She handed it to Stiles just as the group said goodbye and Derek sat back down. He was a lot calmer than he had been when they had been interrupted. When he looked at Thierry, she raised her eyebrow.

"You can't be jealous of Keilani are you?" he asked.

"Do I look jealous?" she answered.

"You look like you're about to jump me from across the table."

"I just want to know how you know her."

"We went to school together. I even dated her in middle school." At that Thierry and Stiles looked at each other. "Oh, come on. She doesn't even know about the wolf side of me. I'm not like Scott. I didn't transform in front of her. She knows nothing."

Thierry wasn't convinced but John had the worst timing. He came over to them looking a little nervous.

"Dad, what is it?" Stiles asked.

"We've got to go," he said, ignoring his son's question.

Thierry was already pushing Stiles out of the booth so she could get out. "Is it another one?"

John nodded. "Yeah. These poor kids. Stiles, can you show the Dylans around town?"

"I'm with Derek, remember?" Stiles replied. His dad had a bad memory when it came to work. It was amazing he remembered anything.

John rubbed his face. He was already two hundred thoughts away from understanding what his son had just said. So he looked at Derek. Thierry also looked at Derek but the look she had was completely different. Derek read the expression immediately. She wasn't jealous, not at all. She was just concerned. She had figured something out and hadn't told him yet.

"I got him. Don't worry," Derek said after a few tense seconds.

Stiles smiled until his dad told the women they were showing them around town. Keilani looked too happy about it while her mother looked bored. Something was going on here. Thierry had been right and Stiles hated when she was right.

His dad nodded his head and patted Thierry's shoulder before he turned and walked out of the diner. After a second glance, Thierry followed the sheriff. The squad car pulled off with the duo inside. Derek looked at Stiles and tried to scare the kid. Unfortunately he wasn't paying too much attention to him. He was watching the squad car disappear down the street.

Both guys turned their heads when their table was struck. Keilani smiled down at them.

"Are you ready?" she asked a little too cheerfully.

Stiles got up as Derek reached into his pocket and pulled out the money for the lunch. He was going to make Stiles pay him back, but that could wait.

As they were walking out of the door, Keilani looped her arm through Derek's and walked with him. Oh, this was going to be interesting. Stiles regretted that he was going to have to break this up sooner or later.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I'm working on this story but I will be taking a break from writing after this chapter. It will give me some time to figure out how this is going to go. I have made up my own version of something. I did research for it but tweaked it a little.

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Thierry couldn't help but notice the smell of blood when she stepped out of John's car. It was distant but the wind was blowing her direction. It carried the smell, strong and unbroken. Following her nose she led the police force that was sent straight to the body.

There was a flurry of movement as orders were shouted. Photos were taken and the scene cut off. As the men and women on the scene worked to get a bus in so their victim could be taken to the morgue, Thierry walked around the scene. Something was off and her nose was going to let her know.

Knowing it could be dangerous this close to the full moon and without Stiles around, she summoned the wolf to the surface. A low escaped her as her sense heightened. She knew her eyes had changed color and were brighter. She was colder and more volatile but it was the only way she could differentiate the smells.

Careful not to disturb the crime scene, she walked around on booted toes. Grass, trees, blood, body wash, shampoo, nail polish, leather, a small animal, and other scents combined to form one bustling scent in her nose. But one of those scents stood out. Eyes glowing so hot she thought they would burst from their sockets, Thierry walked five feet from the original scene and turned.

The smell was putrid, almost like a cat had been killed months ago. She knew the smell of dead cat. She had killed a few during the full moons. But this one was ten times that smell and it was mixed with something else. Kneeling, she looked in the grass and shrubbery.

"Hey, Dean," she called over her shoulder. The other officer walked over to her. She pointed at a limb. "I think I just found our weapon. There's blood on it."

Dean pulled on a pair of gloves and reached for the limb. He took a swab she had pulled from her pocket and dabbed at the wood. The white came away red. Dean nodded at her and started back for the rest of the group. Glad he hadn't noticed her eyes, she pulled a baggy from her pocket and brushed a little of what she really wanted into it.

Pocketing it, she stood and walked back over to the rest of the investigation squad. No one had seen her do anything so she was in the clear. She walked over to John as he was directing the traffic of the officers. When she stopped beside him, everyone shied away. It must be the eyes.

John Stilinski was stressed beyond belief. He had to find out who was murdering these kids before someone else got hurt or killed. Before his son was killed. He looked at Thierry as she stopped beside him.

"Who would do something like this?" he asked.

"A very sick person," she replied.

"This place used to be a very safe place, but now there are wolf sightings, arson, murders, and other things that I can't explain. Some nights I don't think I want to let Stiles out on the streets because it's too dangerous. Then he sneaks out and there's nothing I can do about it."

"He's a good kid. He just wants you to be safe." She figured they were best served by changing the subject. "Are there three wounds similar to the other four victims?"

John nodded. "Strangulation, exsanguination by a cut to the throat, and blunt force trauma to the head. They are the same three things that killed the other four victims. How are they selected? What's the end game in all this? Why kill four people who are not connected besides the school they go to?"

He suddenly turned to her. She got his meaning instantly. "I'll get on that come Wednesday when school goes back in session. There's bound to be someone who knew all four victims. Just get me school photos and I'll see what I can do."

"Take your brother with you. Two heads are always better than one."

He had no idea how right he was, except it was his son who was helping with murder investigation. If he knew that, John would have a cow.

"Do you mind if I go back to the other three scenes? I want to see if I can find anything," she said as a thought struck her. Reaching into her pocket she dropped a transmitter into the ground. At the moment she loved the Argents.

John waved his hand dismissively and she ran. She knew exactly where the other crime scenes were; just outside Heather's house, in the woods, the pool, and another section in the woods. Now with the third section of the woods marked, all she had to do was combine the five and see what she came up with.

She was human and couldn't run as fast as he wolf counterpart. She wanted desperately to let go, but she would have to strip. That would mean she'd have to leave her clothes somewhere and she needed the transmitters in her pockets. Running as a human would have to work.

She was well built. All the years of running with the pack and training in judo had left her with muscle upon muscle. Plus her metabolism was through the roof. She had to eat as many as thirty cheeseburgers before she felt full. Stiles had called her a pig when he'd seen her do it a few weeks ago. Around the time of the full moon, it was worse because the wolf was always ready to go.

Running helped her think. Derek got mad at her when she used the treadmill. Granted it was at two in the morning when something was bothering her and normal people slept at two in the morning. He'd bought a second treadmill because she seemed to always be on that one.

"What does this mean?" she asked out loud. "What does all of this mean? It's all connected but how?"

She came to the other section of the woods where they had found Emily. The scent of old blood was still there but she was searching for something else. Closing her eyes, she used her nose to guide her. She found what she was looking for and bagged it before taking pictures with her phone. She moved on to the next scene and the one after that and the one after that.

As she was heading back to the newest crime scene, she got a text from John. They were heading back to the station. It must have mean that the coroner had collected the body. She was due to pay Melissa McCall a visit before she did anything. Turning a one eighty, she head towards the hospital.

It took a couple of hours but it gave her time to go through all the photos on her phone. As she flipped through them, her mood darkened. She emailed all of the photos to Stiles and asked him to print them off in that order. She told him to put them in the files they had.

"Thierry?" Melissa asked as she walked from behind the desk. Thierry looked up at her. "You must be Thierry Alexander. I've heard a lot about you from Scott."

Thierry smiled, not sure what she should say to it. Melissa must have understood because she motioned her back. They walked into the morgue and Thierry jerked her head. She really hated hospitals because of all the smells they didn't clean up. They thought they did but they didn't have the wolf's sense of smell.

"Sorry. I forgot that you were like my son," Melissa said. She offered Thierry a small smile before she pulled the sheet back on the new victim. "The same three markings; strangulation, exsanguination, and blunt force trauma to the head."

"What kind of cord was used to strangle him?" Thierry asked as she donned the same gloves Melissa was wearing.

The nurse watched as the officer tilted the head from side to side with precision. "I would say it was a small cord. It wasn't fishing line because of the size of the ligature mark."

"What about the cut to the throat?"

"Smooth edge." Melissa nudged her out of the way and tipped the head up. "See this cut? If it was a serrated edge, it would have torn the flesh. All five of them were cut with a smooth edged blade."

"What about the hit to the head? Was it the cause of death or post mortem?"

"That's the tricky thing." Melissa covered the corpse again. "They were all struck at the same time. Usually we can tell how a person was killed. Blunt force trauma to the head can cause massive brain hemorrhaging. That can take minutes up to hours to kill. Exsanguination can be tricky as well. If you slice the jugular just right, a person can bleed out in minutes. Strangulation just applies enough force to kill someone by cutting off the air flow to the lungs and brain."

"So," Thierry started to pace between the five gurneys, "they were all hit in the head, their throats were cut, and they were strangled all at the same time?" Melissa nodded. "So we're looking for three suspects?"

"From the looks of it, yeah. There are at least three people during this."

Thierry stuffed her hands into her back pockets. "There are what, a hundred thousand people in Beacon Hills? It's like finding a needle in a haystack."

"I would focus your efforts on finding someone who has access to rue."

The officer nodded. The two women walked out of the morgue. Thierry said goodbye to Melissa and started for the way to the station. Her car was still at the station. She sent a text to Stiles telling him to stay with Derek. They had a lot to discuss.

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Stiles let out an annoyed sigh as they walked into Derek's apartment. They had showed Keilani and her mother around for hours. Keilani flirted with Derek nonstop, touching his hand and muttering sweet words to him. It made Stiles sick and a little worried at the same time.

They were getting ready to drop them off at the library when the first text from Thierry came through. She wanted him to print off some pictures she had taken with her phone. There were five sets so he figured it must be important. While they were at the library, Stiles hooked his phone up and printed off everything. He stuffed them in his bag and ran out to Derek's car.

As soon they were certain the Dylans were fine, they called in for a pizza and headed back to the apartment. While they were waiting on pizza, Thierry's second text came through. He showed it to Derek because he knew the wolf was going to ask what was going on anyway. Derek had nodded, paid for the pizza and gotten back in the car without a word.

They had pulled the plates from the cabinet and the soda from the fridge when Thierry walked in. She tossed her keys on the table and walked straight to the sink. She filled a glass with water and leaned against the counter. Derek walked over and took her by the shoulders. She looked up at him then dropped her head to his shoulder. The two rarely showed any affection around others and when they did something was up.

"Pizza?" she asked Stiles as she walked to the table. Derek kept a hand on her as she moved. "I thought you wanted everyone to eat well."

"Tonight's a night where it doesn't matter," he replied.

She smiled at him as she grabbed a slice. It was silent as they devoured the pizza. No one wanted to talk about dead bodies over dinner. So it didn't take long for the quick dinner to be over and them to move into the living room.

"Why did you want Stiles here?" Derek asked as he sat down in the chair.

"There was a fifth murder today as you know," she replied as she pulled her laptop from her bag. "While I was there, I used my senses to go deeper than what I was seeing. Stiles, do you have the photos I asked you to print off?"

"Yeah." He opened his bag and pulled the files out. He tossed them on the table and looked at her. "I don't know what they mean though."

"I have a feeling I do." She pulled a book out of her bag and opened it to one of the marked pages. "At each site there was lemon balm, rue, ivy, and oak. I know the smell of oak and ivy so I pinpointed them right away. The rue and lemon balm was very hard to pinpoint but I became familiar with them as I checked each site."

"Rue smells like a coconut," Derek said.

She nodded. "Yes, but the scent is different to everyone else. To me it smelled putrid like it was warning me to stay away. The lemon balm obviously smelled like lemon, but I didn't understand as to why they were all in these places. So I did some research and as I did, my gut started to churn. These were virgin sacrifices all right, but they were sacrifices to do evil."

Stiles frowned. "Who would sacrifice to do good?"

"Ancient peoples used to sacrifice a female every year to make sure their people stayed alive. It's a very old, very barbaric practice."

"Then why is it going on here in Beacon Hills?"

"Someone's trying to summon something," Derek surmised as he added two and two together to get four. Thierry nodded at him. "But what has the power to bring something evil to this plane of existence?"

"There's only one thing I remember that can do this," Thierry said. She turned the computer around to show them a picture she had brought up. "The only thing that knows how to bring something evil to this plane of existence is a creature that wears that emblem."

Stiles leaned in to get a good look. As usual when he couldn't get words, he turned into a guppy. His mouth opened and closed in rapid succession it looked as if he were trying to draw in air. He pointed, framed his chin then pointed again all the while his mouth was moving but no sound came out.

"Tha…tha…that looks like an emblem from the Wiccan religion," he said. He looked over the computer to Thierry. She just stared at him. "Oh god. We have werewolves and now witches?"

"I thought the Wiccans were peaceful people," Derek said.

"The wiccan religion you know now is based off love, honor and tranquility. They don't want to hurt anyone. They just want to live peaceful lives. But it was once a religion of power, blood and death. To gain power you had to shed blood and/or bring death. They walk hand in hand. People have to die to summon things from different realms."

"So what do the plants mean?"

"In traditions now, ivy means to celebrate life and encourage rebirth. In this instance, it means rebirth as power. Lemon balm means immortality."

"Immortality of the blood," Stiles added.

She nodded. "Oak has always been sacred so it would make sense that the trees they were tied to were oak. Rue was the tricky one to place. It has so many different meanings that I needed to find the right one. Rue is for removal, but I don't know what."

"It could mean anything."

"That's what I'm afraid of. Did you find anything out about the Dylans?"

Stiles snapped his fingers and reached into his bag again. He pulled out another folder and opened it. "Amelia Hurst married Charles Dylan in 1980. Keilani Dylan was born in 1986. The family lived in Beacon Hills until Charles died a week before the Hale House fire. They relocated to Los Angeles where they lived until returning to Beacon Hills five months ago."

"That was when the first murder happened," Derek said. "In the murders, has there been a pattern?"

"There was in the beginning. Heather was the first one killed then there was that boy at the pool. The girl Emily was the third and the fourth was that boy. The cycle was broken by this last boy being killed. I think they're progressing to people who have strong ties to the supernatural."

The Alpha werewolf's hands slammed down on the table. "That means the two of you are in danger."

"So could you if my hunch is correct."

"What do you mean?"

"Why would the Dylans return after nine years? They left for a reason. What was the reason? Why come back now? Why come back and then murders start?"

"Are you blaming this on them?"

"No, Derek, but it feels like too much of a coincidence."

"Wait," Stiles said, throwing up both hands between the two of them. "One's an incident, two's coincidence and three's a pattern. Four's murder. Five's serial murder." They looked at him. "My dad says that all the time. Nothing is coincidence after it hits three. It's murder. It's a pattern. Since our pattern has been broken, we have to only go with Thierry's gut feeling. It didn't lead us wrong three months ago when she saved us from the Alpha attack on my house."

"Do you believe the two are involved somehow?" Derek asked him.

He looked down at the files spread before them. There were photos of the victims at the crime scenes. Each wound was captured on camera. Then there were the plants that showed up at every scene. Now there was a symbol that marked it as magical in nature. Then there were two people who hadn't shown their faces until after the murders started.

"Do you think they will come after me?" he asked. Neither one of them replied. He looked between them. "Well?"

Thierry sighed. "Derek told me what you had to do with the mountain ash. Stiles, no one has been able to control mountain ash like that in centuries. 'Be the spark.' That's what he said to you."

"How do you know that? You weren't here when it was said."

"I know Deaton very well. He's told me a lot of things since I've come here. He told me what he told you. Do you know what that means? Be the spark? You have some power in you that makes you immune dominance and more connected to the supernatural world than any of us."

"But you're werewolves! You're the most supernatural thing there is."

"There are some powers that are older than werewolves, Stiles."

Thierry stared at him as he stared at her. She noticed when his ADHD kicked in. His knee started to bounce and he twisted his hands.

"Stiles," she said softly. "You're the glue that holds this team together, the one who sparks our anger when we figure out things that don't suit our liking. You are the spark. You're imagination works over time when we're all tired. Don't take that for granted."

Stiles' knee kept bouncing even as he was calming down. "Do you think they're all connected?"

"I feel it in my gut."

He nodded then started packing his bag. When he was through, he nodded at Derek. The Alpha nodded back but he could tell he was mad. No one wanted to think that they're childhood friend was capable of murder. Anyone was capable of anything. Without a backwards glance, he walked out of the apartment.


	4. Chapter 4

"You know he's still mad at you right?"

Thierry closed the fridge as she wiped the water off her face with the towel around her neck. She popped the top on the bottle and took a large swig, allowing the cool liquid to slide down the back of her throat. She took another for good measure. Then she looked at him.

"What are you doing here, Peter? I thought you couldn't be bothered with pack business that didn't involve you?" she asked.

He gave a nonchalant shrug then moved to the island which she was behind. He smoothed his hair back then drummed his hands on the island. Thierry could only take one person doing that and he was geeky, lanky, and had ADHD. She slammed her hand on top of his. Peter's eyebrows shot up.

"Testy aren't we?" he asked.

"Is there something you want?"

"Just tell me what you know."

She laughed at him. "You mean you haven't been kept in the loop? Shocker."

"You should tell me. I could help."

"Like you were going to help kill your own niece? Not interested thank you." Peter's growled at her. "Growling at me isn't going to make me change my mind."

Annoyed that he didn't get what he wanted, Peter turned and walked out of the kitchen. Thierry heard the door slam moments later. She waited until she heard the man's car pull away from the building before sighing and heading upstairs. She heard the shower in the master bedroom running so she went to the door to its immediate left. Easing the door open, she peered in.

Cora had acclimated well to the pack. She had formed a strong bond with Allison and Lydia. Every week she joined them on their shopping trip, most of the time coming home with more bags than the other two combined. She was learning to control her wolf more. She and Boyd tended to cause a little mischief whenever they could.

All that was good considering the nightmares they had nearly every night. Boyd would wake up screaming. He had gone through so much. Derek had found out that it had been Boyd that killed Erica. He hadn't meant to. It had been Deucalion's plan all along but it had been destroyed by Derek and Scott. He'd tried once again but Thierry and Terrence had gotten in the way. The twins were stronger together, and now that they were around, it was impossible for him to get to them.

She paused as she heard Cora whimper. She waited until she had settled back into a deep sleep. With her instincts screaming at her, Thierry walked across the hall and opened the last door on the right. Boyd was flopped out on his belly snoring peacefully. So his dreams hadn't been affecting him. It made sense. He had only been captured for four months. None of them knew how long Cora had been in Deucalion's hands. It still didn't make it okay but it was a little easier when both wolves weren't screaming all night.

Thierry closed the door and went to the door at the very end of the hall. Derek was still in the shower and he was still angry. She didn't see any of his clothes on the bed so he must have taken them in the bathroom with him. He only did that when he was really mad. She figured she put her foot in it this time so she grabbed her bag and started shoving her stuff into it.

She was grabbing her coat when the door opened. Steam poured out followed by Derek clad in a pair of shorts. He was wiping his head with a towel to get it to dry faster before he got into bed. She watched him through the mirror as he tossed the wet towel into the bathroom and shut off the light. He sighed when he saw her and crossed his arms.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going back to the Stilinski house. It feels like the right thing to do," she replied as she walked over to her side of the bed and rooted around for her shoes. She was pulling them out from under the bed when she was pulled up by the waist band of her pants.

"What?" she asked. "What's the point in me staying if you're just going to get aggravated by something I have no control over?"

"I'm not mad at you," he said as he worked to untie then unzip the leather jacket she had on. "I'm mad because I didn't put the pieces together first. I should have been looking through Peter's computer or through whatever I could find. I hate being the last to know anything."

He tossed the jacket to the chair across the room then ran his hands down her shoulders. "Thi, you have got to understand that this is my pack I'm worried about. We still have the Alpha Pack to worry about and now you say witches are rooting around town. It feels like it's too much."

She took his hands to still them. "That's why you have me. I can do all the things you can't. The police watch over you and your uncle like a hawk because they think you're involved in all of it. The rest of us know better so we're free to roam around and find clues. You have to trust us. That's how we survive."

Derek didn't say anything as he pulled her to the bed. He waited until she had climbed in on her side before he flipped the light and crawled in with her. He curled his body around her and waited.

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"Look, Scott, I'm not sure that's going to work," Stiles said as he walked up the driveway to his house. "Well, Derek's an Alpha with an inferiority complex. He wants to be the big bad werewolf on the block."

Scott laughed on the other end of the call. "Look, you have to be honest with Terrence. Derek will get over the fact that you are smart enough to ask for help and start looking into how we're going to get all of this done. The other pack is still out there."

Stiles made a noise in the back of his throat as he opened his front door. "Yes, I know. I'm still working on that, but that's not the point. The point is I don't think it's going to work."

"It'll work, Stiles. My plans always work."

He made a choking laugh. "Yeah, right. Your plans always get us nearly killed."

"We only get maimed."

He pulled the phone away from his ear and spoke into the mouth piece. "Twenty feet of windows, Scott. Windows." He put it back to his ear. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, I heard. Do you think you can speak any louder?" Scott stopped him before he got the chance. "Don't answer that. Listen, I have to go. Mom needs the car tonight and I'm studying with Greenburg."

The look on Stiles' face was priceless. "Why?"

"Mom thinks it will make me smarter."

"Good luck. Let's hope Coach doesn't find out."

"That's the last thing I need. Talk to you tomorrow, Stiles."

"Night." Stiles dropped his phone on the hall table as he walked into the kitchen. He was oblivious of what was going on around him until he heard feminine laughter. He had an apple in his mouth when he slammed the door. "Dah?"

John and Terrence turned around as they realized he was there. Terrence's eyes sparked once. That meant he knew exactly what was going on. He talked to his teacher way too much. His dad was staring at him as if he had grown a second head. He might as well have. He was staring at the two people he could swear were causing the murders.

"Dad, what's going on?" he asked as he munched on his apple.

"Well, I invited the Dylans over for dinner. They said the place had changed enough that they didn't recognize it or know anyone here. Except the Hales, but that's neither here nor there," John replied with a smile.

Stiles flicked his eyes over his dad's head to Terrence. He had his nose wrinkled like he had smelled the lie the first time. He was only around because he sensed the same thing Thierry had, and when both twins sensed something, he knew it was bad.

"Why are you home so late? I thought I put a curfew on the town," his dad continued.

"I was studying with Danny. He's being harsh on me in chemistry two. I really just want to punch him sometimes but then I realize he's the goalie for a reason. He could snap me like a twig."

"Anyone could snap you like a twig," Keilani said. Her mother joined in the laughter. When the men didn't, she settled. "Oh, come on. I was just joking. Your dad has been telling us that you have become quite the little lacrosse player. Emphasis on little."

"That's enough," Terrence demanded. Everyone in the room was quiet. "Stiles is a very good player. Now his studies could use a little work," on that Stiles gave him a look, "but he's improving all the way around. I think he deserves a little credit."

John finally spoke up. "He's right. My son is very talented, especially at speaking. He's been doing very well and I'm proud of him."

Stiles wiped a fake tear from his eye. "Oh, thanks, Dad. That means the world to me." It really did mean the world but his dad would expect him to be overdramatic about it. So he was going to do just that.

His dad snorted at him. "Quit being over the top and entertain our guests."

He looked at the clock on the wall. "It's one in the morning. Why do you have guests here so late?"

Amelia fanned a hand in front of her face. "I'm afraid that's my fault. We had a late dinner and I had three glasses of wine. He wasn't going to let me drive so we stayed until I was sober."

Terrence's eyes were hot when he looked at Stiles. They were lying but Stiles couldn't tell his dad that. He would demand how he knew. John spent so much time with Terrence that he knew the man inside and out. With one look at his friend, John would know something was wrong. He always commented on how vivid green his eyes were. If he saw how bright blue they were, he'd know something was up.

He walked around the table to the sink. Rolling his eyes at the mess, he set about cleaning it up. He flinched every time he heard the high laugh. This was the same laugh he had spent all afternoon listening to in the car. He was getting tired of it. But that wasn't the most intense feeling.

The most intense feeling that he was having a hard time hiding was the feeling that this was wrong. Something inside him was burning like it was a warning. He looked down at his hands as the water from the faucet ran over them. They were glowing slightly. It couldn't be anger because he want angry. It felt like it was an advanced warning system inside him. He felt as if having these women in his house was a mistake. But his dad was a gentleman and he wouldn't listen to his argument.

When he finished loading the dishwasher, he dried his hands and headed for the stairs. He watched from the stairs as his dad flirted with Amelia. Keilani was trying her hardest to get Terrence to notice her but the older man wasn't going to budge. He wasn't going to let her get to him.

Stiles had a sudden idea. He ran to his room and dialed the fourth number on his speed dial. It took a few rings and his hand motions for him to get an answer. Finally on the sixth ring it caught.

"Hello?" said the groggy feminine voice.

Thank God Thierry had picked up. "Thi, it's Stiles. You need to get over here as soon as you can. It's really important."

"What is it, Stiles?" she asked.

In the background he heard, "Tell Stiles to go the hell to bed."

"Shut up," she said. He heard Derek groan when she got up. "I'm on my way. Give me ten minutes.

Stiles was really happy when she didn't ask any questions. He paced his bedroom floor as he bit his nails. He was really nervous. Calling Thierry over was a power play. Having the twins in the house together against suspected witches was bound to cause trouble but he had to protect his dad.

He heard a car pull up to the house. He contemplated jumping out the window but that would cause bodily harm. Instead he took off at break neck speeds down the stairs. The banister would have caved under him if he were a werewolf. Well, one day it would break and he would be flat on his ass with wood sticking out of it arms and legs.

At the moment, he was glad the banister wasn't broken. He swung around it and landed at the door just as his dad and the others walked out. Terrence tilted his head in suspicion then took a whiff. He gave Stiles a toothy grin just before the kid flung the door open.

Thierry lifted her head and smirked as she walked in the door. Amelia and Keilani looked surprised and took a step back.

"What'd you need, Terrence?" she asked as walked past everyone.

"Were you already in town? I told you not to worry about coming over if you were," Terrence replied as he took on the ruse. Oh how Stiles loved listening to the brain games the twins played.

"Well, I was getting ice cream when I got your text. You know how fun games can be when ice cream is involved." She waggled her eyebrows for good measure.

John cleared his throat. "Thierry, I thought you were staying with Derek tonight."

"I am. Didn't you just hear I needed to get ice cream?"

He held up his hand. "Don't finish that thought. By the way, I need you at the school tomorrow. You're the one who knows the students. They'll talk to you."

"I got it. How long do you need me there?"

"All day if you need to be. It might take that long with students like my son."

Stiles waved his hands. "I'm not that bad."

Thierry shifted her head to look at him. "When you get nervous, you chew on your lacrosse net." They made faces at each other. "I'll give you a full report when I get a chance.'

John nodded then looked at his guests. "I guess I'll see you out."

Amelia allowed him to help her into her jacket. "Oh, John. I was wondering. Would you care to go out with me tomorrow night?"

"Dad!" Stiles said quickly. His dad looked at him. "I have a game tomorrow night."

John made a face. "That's right. I'm sorry, Amelia. I can't go. I go to all of his games, even the ones he doesn't play in."

Thierry and Terrence shared a smile at the way John worded the excuse. But Amelia wasn't deterred. She latched herself on to his arm and looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. The three, Stiles included, shared a look that was good enough to kill.

"I've never seen a lacrosse game. Do you think it would be a good idea if I joined you?"

John was powerless against her. "Sure."

Amelia made a happy noise and Keilani gave the twins a smug look. Stiles sucked in a breath. This wasn't going to end well.

"Let me show you to your car," his dad continued.

When they were out of earshot, Terrence let out a slew of curses. Thierry listened to her brother momentarily as she sniffed the air. Slowly her lips peeled back over her teeth revealing elongated canines. Stiles gasped and tried to get her to calm down but it didn't really work. Terrence sniffed the air and snarled as well.

"What's going on?" Stiles asked.

"It's the same smells I smelled at the crime scenes," Thierry said.

Stiles looked from the twins to his dad outside and back to the twins. Finally he pointed.

"Are you trying to say that the murderers are trying to coerce my father into allowing them to go to my game?" They nodded. His arms started flying and his leg came up. "That's not cool. It's so not cool."

"What do we do?" Terrence asked.

"As of right now, I have no proof that they did it. I just have the smells. I can't arrest them for that. When they ask how I know, I can't just say it was a hunch. I could lose my badge. We have to play this safe." She swallowed hard. "I'll talk to Derek. I'll see if we can use Cora and Boyd tomorrow night at the game."

The other two were silent. This was the first time she had said she was going to talk to Derek about using the pack. Most of the time she just did what she wanted. They guessed she had finally come to understand how the pack was meant to work. At least how this pack was meant to work.

"What about Peter?" Terrence asked.

"I'll just bully him into doing what I want. It's easy enough to do. I have more information than he does and he's chomping at the bit to get it. This will make it easier for him to understand how this works," she replied.

"Well, we better figure this out soon. The full moon is in a couple of days and the two of you will be wolves. My dad and I will be unprotected," Stiles said.

Thierry grabbed his face gently. "If anything happens, you call me. I'll hear you no matter where you are or where I am and I'll come to you. I'll kill anything that harms you." Stiles nodded his head, grateful someone was able to keep that promise. She dropped her hand. "I'll call you tomorrow with details."

She walked out the door. They watched as she cast her eyes in the direction of the cars. John was still talking to Amelia by her Mercedes. Thierry jumped in her jeep, reversed, and was gone before anyone could say a word to her. Terrence and Stiles looked at each other, both grateful that Thierry could hold her tongue when she needed to.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** If I upset anyone with my previous chapters, just bear with me. I do research for things I don't understand. For this story I skewed it on purpose. It's going to be corrected I promise. If you'd like to help, just put it in the reviews or PM me.

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Stiles knocked on the door to the library office at nine that morning. He was skipping advanced economics but with mandatory sessions he felt it was a good enough time for him to go. He just wished that Finstock didn't have the good sense to check his schedule.

Thierry looked up from the table she was at and smiled. She looked tired and ready to collapse. He figured after she had left his dad's place that she would have gone back home. Even if she had, she looked horrible. He even said as such.

"You've looked better," he said as he sat down.

She laughed. "Thanks. What are you doing here? You aren't scheduled until eleven."

"I know and it's right in the middle of lunch time. I figured I'd come now."

She cut her eyes at him. "What is it?"

"I think you may be wrong about the whole Wicca thing. I did some research last night and everything I read said Wiccans of today don't have anyone. So I don't think there's a way that a Wiccan could have done this. Plus I found this: "These eight words the Wiccan rede fulfill: Aye harm none, do what ye will." That sounds like a code. Why would anyone break their code on something like this? This is major."

Thierry rubbed her eyes. He could see how tired she was and just by doing that movement, she looked younger. He stopped thinking about himself and leaned down.

"Was there another murder last night?" he muttered.

She shook her head. "No, I'm just stumped. If it's not a witch…"

"I never said it wasn't a witch. I just said it wasn't a Wiccan witch." As he watched her reaction, he knew something else was up. "What's going on?"

"I called the twins last night on the way home. They said they'd help me in any way they can."

"When are you going?"

"Tonight."

Stiles shook his head. "I can't go. I have a game."

"I know but it can't wait."

"Who are you taking?" She smiled. He pointed as his head moved from side to side. "I don't like that look."

He listened as she called her brother. From the exasperated tone Stiles could tell Terrence didn't want to babysit a bunch of teenagers. Who would? They were hormonal and annoying and wanted to jump each other any time they got the chance.

He scrambled to get out of his seat when she stood and headed for the door. He walked beside her talking a mile a minute about how this was a bad idea and how Derek was going to be mad. He wasn't concerned until he noticed she was walking towards the economics class he was supposed to be in.

When they came to the door, he brushed past her and plastered his back to the door. There was window there so anyone who was looking would know it was him. He had a very distinct form. She raised her eyebrows at him. He racked his brain for a good excuse but came up with nothing.

"Stiles," she said.

"Just don't okay?" he replied.

Thierry shoved him roughly out of the way and opened the door. Coach Finstock stopped his lecture and prepared to berate whoever had interrupted his class. His mouth fell one and he looked like a fish. In fact all the guys, except Scott and Isaac, looked like fish. Stiles took the time to actually look at Thierry for the first time. She was dressed in jeans and combat boots that were laced up just a little bit over the ankles. Her gray t-shirt fell over a flat stomach. Her leather jacket concealed a badge and a gun in the waistband of her jeans. Blond hair with blue streaks fell over well-muscled shoulders as green eyes held the coach's.

After looking her over in a manner that would have made Derek growl, Coach finally asked, "Can I help you?"

Thierry smiled and Stiles covered his face. He knew once she brought out her thousand watt smile everyone was doomed to do as she asked. He peered through his fingers. Yep, they were all gone.

"I need to see Isaac Lahey," she said.

Every head in the room turned towards Isaac. He held a smirk that said he knew what this was about. Collectively the guys made cat calls as he stood and tossed his stuff in his bag. The noises went on as he walked into the hall. Even behind a closed door they could hear the noises.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"You're missing the game tonight," she said. He huffed to argue, but she shook her head. "I can't take Stiles or Derek. That leaves you."

Isaac looked at Stiles. The other kid was leaning against the wall shaking his head. "You don't agree with this?"

"It makes sense to d it soon but it's too close to the full moon. It's too risky," Stiles replied.

"It has to be done," Thierry said. "If I can save a life I will. We all know I've taken plenty. Now's the time to do it."

The younger werewolf nodded. "All right, I'll go. We're not telling Derek are we?"

She shook her head. Isaac was already heading down the hallway when she looked at Stiles. "Go to class."

Stiles slammed his hand into the wall as they walked away from him.

Coach Finstock opened the door and yanked him in. "Stilinski, get in here."

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Derek stood on the sidelines of the lacrosse field and stared at the team. Boyd was on the field and he felt as if he should be there just in case something happened. That and he was there to support his pack mate. After a couple of weeks on probation, he was allowed back on the team. He was happy to allow some of the aggression seep away as he played the rough sport.

He found Scott and Stiles sitting on the bench. Scott was on first line this game. His grades had improved enough over the summer that he could play. He was also working harder to be a better werewolf. He would train with Derek on the weekends and then sit with Isaac and do homework. He was surprising Derek left and right, and Derek thought he didn't have room for surprises.

As he searched the team and stands, he noticed one person missing. Since going back to school, Isaac had been on first line with Scott. The two worked hard every game to keep those positions. When they played, they played hard and made sure the teams knew who they were facing.

"Scott," he said knowing the kid would hear him. He knew he had his attention when his head turned slightly. "Where's Isaac?"

As he thought about it, he hadn't seen Isaac after school. He usually came back to the flat once he was done in the library. Most of the time he sat down and did his homework. Derek had never seen a kid do his homework without being told. His life with his late father had obviously seeped over into his werewolf life.

He tuned into the guys' conversation. He caught the part about Thierry coming to their class and pulling Isaac out. That was all he needed to hear before he pulled out his phone. He hit speed dial two and listened to it ring. When no one answered, he tried Isaac's phone. Again no answer. He wanted to crush his phone but then settled for the smashing his fist into the bleachers.

He saw Terrence and Lydia making their way over to him. In the last few weeks, they had grown closer. He knew Terrence would never cross the border into lovers territory but Lydia kept trying even though she knew it wasn't going to happen. Terrence looked up at him and frowned.

"She's not here is she?" he asked as soon as they were within earshot. Derek shook his head. "Well, she left me with talking to the students about their classmates."

Derek turned to him when he stopped beside him. "Do you know where she went?"

Terrence shook his head. "It may have something to do with Stiles."

"It has nothing to do with Stiles. The kid's here. She took Isaac with her." The older twin didn't look too surprised. That unnerved Derek. "You knew she was taking him?"

"I knew it was a possibility. She wouldn't risk Stiles' life or yours."

"So she's protecting all of us," Lydia supplied. They both looked at her. "I have no clue where she went."

"They went to San Francisco." Derek turned and crossed his arms at the twins. He wasn't letting them get near the field. They threw their hands up in surrender. "We're not here to hurt you. We're just here to watch the game."

"What's in San Francisco?" Terrence asked.

"Someone that can help you with your witch problem," Ethan said.

"Witch problem?" Lydia asked. "We now have witches?"

"It's just a theory," Derek said.

"A theory that Thierry proved. She asked us last night if we knew anything," Aidan said. He looked at the Alpha and the man Beta. "You didn't know she talked to us last night?"

"After she left Stiles', we assumed she went home," Terrence said. "What did you tell her?"

"We have a contact in San Francisco that knows a lot more about magic than we do. We sent her there."

They didn't have a chance to argue anymore when the team took the field and the game began. Terrence filled Derek in on everything that had happened the night before, including the part about Stiles' dad agreeing to bring Amelia and Keilani to the game. Looking through the crowd, Derek found the three sitting with Melissa McCall. Scott's mother knew everything and had been a big help with the murders.

Keilani turned around and smiled at Derek. He nodded in return. Something about her had changed. She wasn't the happy girl he had known in middle school. She was darker, more brooding. Well, he didn't have a right to say that because he was the same way but still.

"Mystery man at two o'clock," Terrence muttered.

Derek followed the clock reference and looked to where his friend was. There was a guy dressed in all black standing at the end of the visitors' bleachers. He was just standing there watching the entire game. When Stiles came into his line of sight, he watched him intently.

"He's after Stiles," he said. "Watch him."

"I think you should be watching the women," Lydia said.

Derek turned to their stands. Amelia was talking to John in a high pitched voice. He looked at Keilani and felt his temper rise. Keilani was muttering something. He barely made out the words she was saying but he recognized it as Latin.

"She's summoning something," he said as he jumped from his seat.

"What are you going to do?" Terrence asked. He smiled when Derek started taking his clothes off. "Derek, I know you and my sister have your quirks, but now's not the time."

"It's not like that. Thierry swore to protect that kid. She's my mate. What's hers is mine and what's mine is hers. I have to protect him while she's away."

Just as the words left his mouth, the ground started to shake. It was California and they were used to earthquakes, but this wasn't an ordinary earthquake. The ground seemed to split open in the middle of the field. Derek finished removing whatever he had on and shrank down to wolf size.

Stiles and Scott were on the field as the ground started to shake. They stopped the game and looked around. Danny was clinging to the posts inside the net. Boyd ran up to them and formed a circle. They had no idea where the attack was coming from but they knew it was against them. They just had to find out where it was coming from.

Stiles felt his hands grow warm as adrenaline coursed through his veins. He lifted one then the other from the stick he was holding. His gloves felt hot. Could this be the spark Deaton had been talking about? What did it mean?

There was a sudden growl then Stiles was yanked off his feet. He was dragged backwards. As he turned over, he saw that the thing that grabbed his foot was a wolf, or dog of some sort. It was black with golden eyes and it smelled nasty. He kicked it once for good measure, his cleat digging into its face.

"Scott!" he yelled as he tried to dislodge his foot from the mutt's hold.

"Hang on, Stiles!" his best friend yelled. He was busy fighting his own mutt.

Another one latched on to Stiles and he screamed. Then there was a brown wolf and a silver wolf jumping over him. They knocked them back and started to circle each other. John hurried over to his son and pulled him into his arms. Blood seeped out of the jersey and onto his jacket and shirt.

"Shoot them!" he yelled at the deputies that always came to the games to make sure nothing happened.

"No!" Cora yelled as she came running up with Lydia. "Look. The silver and brown dogs are protecting you."

John looked up. Sure enough the silver and brown dogs were dodging in and out, nipping as they went. They were running a pattern that confused the other dogs that were trying to get past their lines. Beside them, Lydia was filming the thing. It was smart thing because they were going to need the evidence to track down the animals.

"Dad?" John looked down to find Stiles looking up at him. "Dad, what's going on?"

"It's okay, Son. It's all right. We're going to get you to the hospital. You'll be fine," his dad said.

Stiles swallowed. "Dad, did you see Derek in the stands?"

"He was here," Lydia said. "I don't know where he went though."

The injured kid nodded. He understood what it meant. Derek was protecting him, as was Terrence. They were the brown and silver wolves dancing a few feet away. Wind rushed by him and he knew it was Scott and Boyd. Peter would be directing people away from the scene. Snarling filled the air as the screaming dispensed.

Then just as suddenly as they showed up the other dogs were gone, running the opposite direction they had been facing. The other two wolves took off after them. Scott and Boyd came over. All traces of wolf had left them. His best friend dropped to his knees.

"Stiles?" he asked.

Stiles opened his eyes and looked at the two images of his friend swimming in front of his face. "Hey, Scott. Can I finish the game?"

Scott laughed and wiped his nose. "No, man. We can't finish the game. The field's messed up." He stopped and listened. There were sirens. "The ambulance is here to take you to the hospital."

"Scott, my hands are hot."

His friend ripped the gloves from his hands. He didn't know what was going on. All he knew was that his hands were burning. He heard the shutter on a camera go off and he knew it was serious.

The sirens were right up on them when he opened his eyes again. Other people hovered over him. He felt the prodding of needles and the warmth of something in his veins. He opened his eyes to look up. The EMTs and Melissa were hovering over him. His jersey was cut open and his pads had been removed. Lifting his head he tried to look down at his feet. His head felt dizzy so he laid it back down.

The next thing he remembered was the lights of the ambulance. Scott was with him as was his dad. In his last moment of reality, he looked at his best friend.

"Thierry?" he asked.

"I sent it to her. Just rest. I'll be here when you get up," Scott replied.

Stiles let the drugs take him under. He usually thought people under the influence of drugs had no dreams. Instead his were of a fiery flower on the side of a tree.


	6. Chapter 6

Isaac leaned back against the driver's seat. The day had been long and tiring. They had driven three hours to San Francisco. Ethan's address had been in an obscure part of town. It had taken them a couple of hours to find it then the woman wasn't home. They had wandered around the city for a little bit. They had come to the agreement that if the woman wasn't home the next time they went back they were going home.

Thierry had stopped by almost every food truck they had seen. It was close to the full moon and she was always hungry right before it. Isaac had laughed at her the entire time. They had also stopped at a music store and bought jazz albums. Isaac had never really had a good time out and about, but hanging out with Thierry had shown him how much fun it was.

When they had sensed the other werewolf pack close, they had decided it was time to check back in with the woman. This time she was home and she had been waiting on them. Before they even got a word out of their mouths, she was telling them their names and why they were there. Thierry looked at Isaac like they were in the right place but Isaac didn't feel so certain.

He replayed the memory in his head.

"_Thierry Alexander and Isaac Lahey," the woman had said. "It's about time the two of you step into my home."_

_Thierry had frowned then sat down in one of the proffered chairs. "How do you know us?"_

"_My dear, every hunter, witch and werewolf knows of the Alexander clan and the most highly decorated twins to come out of it. You and your brother are legends with 349 kills to your name."_

_Isaac had looked at her. "You have over three hundred kills?" She rolled her eyes at the only thing he caught. "No wonder the Argents wanted you to help them." _

_After his outburst the woman had asked them a simple question. "Why are you here?" _

"_We have reason to believe that witches are terrorizing our town," Thierry had said. "At first we thought it was witches of the Wicca religion but I've been told it wasn't."_

"_Describe these terrors to me."_

"_Five people have been murdered."_

"_That right there tells me it wasn't Wiccan witches who did it. Wiccans do not harm living beings. Now describe this to me."_

_Thierry had launched into her tale and Isaac had added a few pieces here and there to it. The woman had listened intently to it, making little noises when she had heard something worthwhile. She also had written everything down in a little book. She had been very intent on finding the truth. _

_When Thierry was finished, she had sat back in the chair and let out a huge breath. She had let every last thing out and now Isaac had gotten everything. The kid had looked at her with such understanding it hurt to watch him. _

"_Well, I was right," the woman had said after a few minutes. "It wasn't Wiccans that are doing your killings. But I think I know how has been." _

_The two had been surprised when she had gotten up and hobbled to the bookshelf. She had scanned it as quickly as her older eyes could. She had finally found it and had pulled it from the shelf. Then she had handed it to them. Thierry had flipped it open and had looked through it. _

"_That book right there will help you out. I know you want to know what's going on, but it's against my strict code to outright tell someone what they need to know. If you don't use it well, you will never know how to stop it," she had said. _

"_May I ask one more question?" Thierry had asked after they had been effectively snubbed. _

_The woman had turned to her. "If you must." _

"_Were you one of these?" _

_The woman had smiled. "You are a perceptive one." _

"_Is that a yes?"_

"_That's more than one more question. Please leave." _

They had walked out and gotten back in the car. Isaac had pointed out a little pizzeria he wanted to eat at and they had pulled in. They had ordered a large meat lovers pizza and wings to go with a two liter of Coke. Then they had settled down and started reading through the book. Isaac had taken extensive notes, his love of learning taking control of him.

They had sat at the table for two hours. By the time they were supposed to head back it was well after five and it was getting dark. There was no way he was going to get back in time for the game. So by the remaining sun while Thierry had driven them back to Beacon Hills. He had taken notes until he had lost the sun.

Then there had been a traffic jam on CA 70 just an hour out of town. They had sat in the jam for an over an hour. When they had come upon where traffic was at a standstill, they had realized it was a wreck. It hadn't helped their moods. He had checked his phone for constant updates on the game. When they had stopped coming, he had known something was wrong so when Thierry had gotten the text about Stiles he pieced it all together.

After they had gotten past the wreck, Thierry had floored it. Isaac hadn't been certain if the Jeep could take the a hundred twenty miles an hour it had been pushing. He hadn't said anything to her. It wouldn't have had helped anyway. He had been able to read her mind. She had been killing herself one the inside because Stiles was her priority. He was hers, bonded to her for life by some unseen force, and she hadn't been there to protect him.

When Scott's next few text messages had come in, he had told her to pull over. He had taken up driving the last half an hour into town while she had compared photos from the books in the car. He had felt the tension just rolling off her as the minutes ticked by and she hadn't found anything. It hadn't been until he pulled into the hospital's parking lot.

The first thing they saw when they walked into the hospital was the twins. They were hanging back from the rest of the group. John spotted them and immediately came over. He grabbed Thierry by the shoulders and shook her.

"Where were you? Why did you leave my son?" he demanded.

"I had a lead I had to follow," she replied.

"Let her go," Terrence said. He grabbed John's hand and squeezed. "You gave her the job to follow leads no matter where they were. She went in search of one and now you blame this on her?"

John stared into the face of the woman. She kept a calm demeanor on the outside but no one was standing close enough to see her body shaking. Out of fear or anger it didn't matter. They were close to the full moon and that meant the wolf was near. Without Stiles around they were all in danger of the dominance.

Finally the older Stilinski dropped his hands. Terrence guided his sister to the side then struck up a conversation with the sheriff. Isaac guided the woman to the others gathered in the waiting room. Derek refused to look at them but the twins were right up on them.

"Did you get your information?" Ethan asked. He was hanging on Danny. The goalie seemed happy to have the attention even though he had no idea what was going on.

Thierry nodded. When she spoke, her voice cracked. "Ye…yeah. I got it. How is he?"

"He's in recovery. They thought they were going to have to sedate him again when he came out of it. But in Stiles fashion, he talked the entire way through it. They say he's going to be fine," Scott said. He grabbed her hand and looked at it when he noticed the shaking. "He's been asking for you for an hour."

She shook her head. "I can't see him, not after this."

Scott looked at the man in the corner. "Derek, go with her. Maybe she'll stop thinking if it's you with her."

Isaac watched as the Alpha looked at his mate. His face softened from the stony mask to a less stony mask when he saw how bad she was shaken. No matter how mad he was at her, he couldn't deny that she needed him right then. Not making so much as a sound, Derek stood and crossed the room. He took Thierry's hand and led her through the double doors.

Melissa found them on the other side. She smiled at them then led them down the hall. She knocked on the door calling his name then let them in. When they walked past her, she shut the door so the three of them could have privacy.

Derek heard Thierry's breath hitch when she saw Stiles in the hospital bed. He had IVs running from two different spots in his arm. His shoulder was bandaged and a little bit of red peeked out from it. His foot had been bitten as well but it was only scratched. He would be able to walk in a few hours.

He felt her hand shaking in his and his anger ebbed a little more. She had left them behind because she had wanted them to be safe. She had thought they would be safe but whoever was killing people was more powerful than she had imagined. How would she take it when she found out it was Keilani and her mother?

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to come see me?" They looked at the bed. Stiles was awake and staring at them. He laughed then coughed. "Don't think I don't know you're over there. I've lived around you for long enough to know that whenever it's too quiet werewolves are around."

Thierry dropped Derek's hand and walked slowly over to the bed. As she reached for the kid, her hand started to shake. Then she dropped to her knees and her head hit the edge of the bed. Stiles tried to look to see if she was okay but he couldn't sit up. His head hurt too much. He figured hers did as well. Then he heard the worst thing imaginable. He heard a woman crying.

"Thi, please don't," he muttered. He turned his head gently so it didn't pound any harder than it already was. "Thi, give me your hand."

At first he didn't think she was going to do it. Finally he felt her warmth slide into his. He gave a slight jerk. He felt when she understood because the bed dipped. He felt hair tickle his cheek as she nestled her head on his good shoulder. She gripped his good hand.

"I thought I was going to die," he muttered. "And in that moment I wondered where the werewolf was that was supposed to protect me. Then I remembered that she was going to figure out what was killing my friends and I was at peace. I had friends who would protect me while she was away. If I could survive the attack, I would be able to see my wolf again." He turned his head so his mouth was pressed against her forehead. "You came back."

"I told you I would always find you," she said. "How did you survive the attack?"

"Terrence, Scott and Boyd ran out on to the field. There were four of them, four that were big and ugly. I would have died if not for them. And Derek as well." She squeezed his hand to tell him she knew. "Did you find out what we discussed this morning?"

"Yeah, I did. You were completely right. It's not someone from the Wiccan religion. I think it's something much worse. I should have known that once I left it would come after you."

"Don't blame yourself. They were coming after me anyway because I'm a virgin. You wouldn't have been able to stop them. You could have maimed them but you wouldn't have stopped them. They would have found another way to come after me."

Derek tapped her on the shoulder when his voice started to weaken. "He's tired. Let him rest. I'll post a guard here for the night. We can come back tomorrow and let him know all the details."

Thierry nodded. She untangled her hand from Stiles' and sat up. He looked younger than sixteen. Carefully she leaned over him and kissed his forehead. Derek placed his hand at the small of her back and guided her from the room. They spoke to Melissa briefly and Derek filled her in on the need for a guard, a werewolf guard. She agreed wholeheartedly and even volunteered Scott.

"Isaac, come home and get something to eat," Derek ordered as they walked through the waiting room again.

Thierry pulled away from him and walked over to John. "Hey, I just wanted to say I'm sorry I left him. Usually we're glued to the hip and the one time I left him he gets hurt. I feel so bad about that that I wish I could turn back time and take his place, but I can't."

John pulled himself away from Amelia and Keilani. "It's not your fault. There was an earthquake and wild dogs attacked my son. It had nothing to do with you. I was just angry that you left your job. I had just wished you would have told me you were leaving." He gripped her shoulders gently this time. "You would have done everything in your power to make sure Stiles was safe I have no doubt. Go home and get some sleep. I'll see you at work in the morning."

Derek walked up to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He looked straight at Keilani as he whispered in her ear. When she nodded, he kissed the side of her head as a play of dominance and to show her who he belonged to. She smiled at him anyway, like she had a hidden agenda.

"Terrence," he said. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, I'll be there shortly. I have to run home first but I'll be there," he replied.

Derek nodded. "Peter, let's go." He heard Peter say something snide but he went anyway.

Isaac didn't say a word as he climbed in the driver's seat of Thierry's Jeep. She got in the passenger's side and leaned against the window. The second the car started he smelled salt. Glancing over he noticed she was wiping away the tears. Stiles' attack had angered her and strengthened her resolve to get whoever was doing this.

He wanted to say something but he didn't know what to say. When his dad had been killed, he had felt upset but that had only lasted a little bit after he remembered what his father had done. He had lived a hard life but he had still loved his dad. He had some good memories of his dad and that was what kept him anchored on the full moon.

They pulled into the garage of their home. He got out first and rushed over to the other side of the car. He jerked open the door and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him immediately and buried her face in his shoulder. He heard Derek walk up but didn't move. The Alpha knew the woman was his mate and that Isaac wasn't trying to do any harm. He was trying to help.

"Get her inside," Cora said from the top of the stairs. "I've made some soup."

"Is it Grandma's?" Derek asked. His sister nodded. "We'll be right up."

"We have information we need to discuss. Come on, Thi. Let's go."

Isaac led her up the stairs and into the living room. Cora brought a tray of soup out and Boyd followed with the drinks. Isaac splayed all of their findings out in plain view and began explaining everything while Derek talked to Thierry. Terrence wandered in with Lydia and took a bowl, wolfing it down within minutes. Lydia helped explain some things that Isaac was having a hard time with, making his life so much easier.

Peter eyed everything critically. He was the oldest out of the group assembled and yet he hadn't put any of this together before. Right in the middle of Isaac's rant about how the woman they had met was an old witch who had been a witch hunter he had walked to the closet. He was tempted to comment about a witch being a witch hunter, but then he remembered his niece-in-law was a werewolf who was a werewolf hunter.

He grabbed what he needed and went back to his spot on the sofa. He was flipping through the book as Thierry talked. She had come out of her shocked state as Isaac was making a mess of his thoughts. He looked grateful for the help from the person who had been there.

"Okay, stop," he finally said. The only noise he heard was the sound of spoons clinking on stoneware bowls. "The ones who were at the game saw these wolves up close and personal. Does anyone have a photo that we could see?"

"I have one." Thierry handed her phone over. "Are we on the same page here? Are we thinking the same thoughts?"

"That would be really creepy, but in essence yes I think we are." He turned the laptop around. "They're usually from England and they signal death. Some of their names include Cwn Annwn, Barghest, Moddy Dho, and Gwyllgi. In some legends, seeing or hearing their howl may be an omen of death or even cause death."

"What is he talking about?" Lydia asked.

Terrence sighed as he set his bowl on the table. "He's talking about hellhounds." He ran his hand through his hair, mussing his gold curls. "Thi, we haven't faced them in a long time. How do you know it's them?"

"Sulfur," Thierry replied. "The last time we faced one there was sulfur on the ground. I've been finding sulfur on the ground at every crime scene."

"There was sulfur on the ground at the field too."

Thierry jumped up and ran to Derek's room. A few minutes later she returned with a baggy. "Did the element smell like this?"

She shoved the bag under Derek's and Terrence's noses. When they flinched away, she knew they had smelled it. It made her heart plummet.

"What kind of creature is a hellhound?" Cora asked.

"It is normally mistaken as a werewolf because the body frame is so much alike. The only difference is hellhounds can't turn human. You might know one of the most famous hellhounds in legends. Cerberus," Thierry said. "Cerberus was the hellhound to the Greek underworld and only Hades could control him."

"Obviously Hades was god of the underworld. Who can control a hellhound now?" Boyd asked.

"Someone who can entice it or put a spell on it. If controlled correctly, a hellhound can pick up the scent on any human, including a virgin human," Peter said.

Thierry stopped. "Hellhounds are somewhat like werewolves. They had to have a scent to go on. If someone was bound for death, there would be a natural smell, like your dog, Isaac. That means whoever these killers have chosen they had to have had the scent of the person they were going to kill. These teens were years away from their deaths."

She and Terrence stopped and looked at each other. Terrence smashed his hand into the concrete floor so suddenly it made everyone including Derek jump.

"I let them into the house," he said as Lydia looked at his hand.

"Wait. What are you talking about?" Isaac asked.

"Keilani and Amelia were at the Stilinski house last night. I let them in. They were at the game tonight when the earth exploded and the hounds came out. It was my fault. I'm the one who caused Stiles to get hurt."

Derek turned his attention to his mate. "Thierry, calm down."

She was shaking in anger and her eyes were bright blue. Derek grabbed her hand to calm her. After a second or two she stopped shaking enough to look at him.

"Are you saying that Keilani and Amelia are in on this?" he asked.

"They're the only ones who could do it. Plus there was a guy there tonight. He must be the hound handler. It's all making sense now," Terrence said.

"We can't do anything until we have a plan," Peter said. "How long will a hellhound track its prey?"

"Until it kills it. The one we faced had been tracking its prey for two weeks. They will go until they know they can kill it."

"Is it like the Kanima? Can we trap the master?" Derek asked.

"We might be able to if we figure out who the third person is. Once we do that we should be fine."

The Alpha nodded then commanded everyone to stay at his place just to be safe. When they were all ready for bed, Peter went through and flipped the lights off. No one felt much like sleeping but they were going to try.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** I know I said I wasn't going to write for a while but my head won't stop spinning with ideas.

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Derek awoke the next morning alone. He reached across the bed to find it cold and empty. Thierry had been gone for hours now. He didn't blame her. After hours of not being able to sleep, she had finally gotten up so he could sleep. He had fallen asleep and he must not have heard her leave in the middle of the night.

Knowing she wasn't in the house, he got up and pulled on a pair of jeans and a fresh t-shirt. He stuffed his feet in his shoes as he grabbed his keys. Peter was in the kitchen as he came down the hall. They barely waved at each other as he walked past. He jumped in the car and pulled out of the garage. There was only one place she could have gone in the middle of the night.

He pulled off at McDonald's and bought two of the hot cake meals and three cups of coffee. Then with a second thought he threw in a sausage and biscuit just in case. He pulled into the parking lot of the hospital a little after seven. Visiting hours weren't until nine but he figured Melissa would let him through. She worked eight to eight during the week. This week she was on nights. He walked right up to the nurse's station. She looked up at him and smiled then motioned him back with her head. He handed her a cup of coffee then went back.

He balanced the tray on his wrist as he opened the door. The room was dark but he could clearly make out two forms in the bed. He heard whispering. Stiles was awake and they were talking. He figured the two had been connected long enough to know that when one was awake the other was. Thierry had her forehead pressed against his neck. Stiles' eyes were closed but he was hyper aware of his surroundings. He had to be because he was in the hospital.

He smiled when he heard Stiles say his name. Thierry lifted her head and looked over at the little table in the room. She smiled at him. She knew he had known where she would be when he noticed she was gone. Stiles laughed at something she said then groaned when his shoulder started to hurt. Thierry got up and walked over to the empty chair.

"How long have you been here?" he asked as he pulled out their breakfast. He handed her a cup of coffee.

Thierry opened the top and sipped the hot liquid. She set it down then dug into the pancakes. "I came in a little after three. John was asleep in the chair. I sent him home."

"You should have woken me up. I would have come with you."

"You've been through enough with me the last few days. There was no point in angering you more."

"I wouldn't have been angry if you had just asked, but you seem to have a real problem with that."

"Sorry." She took another bite of her food then looked at the clock. "How did you get in? Visiting hours aren't for another two hours."

"Melissa's still at the front desk. She let me by." He pulled the sausage and biscuit from the bag and took it over to Stiles. The kid looked up at him with a smile. "Don't tell anyone."

"Thank goodness it's real food. Hospital food sucks." He took a big bite and sighed happily. "Greasy goodness."

Derek shook his head then moved back to the table. By the time he settled down, Thierry's food was gone. She was reclining on the couch under the window with her coffee. She seemed distant once again but he attributed that to sleep deprivation. She hadn't been sleeping in days, and now that Stiles was in the hospital she wouldn't be sleeping any time soon.

Stiles finished off his breakfast and leaned back against his pillow. He played with the remote and flipped through stations. All that was on were children's shows, the news, and infomercials. He shut the TV off and groaned loudly. Derek cut his eyes to him as he finished his breakfast.

"I'm so bored!" he said then hit the bed. He jarred his shoulder then winced at the pain. "Looks like I'm out for a while."

"At least until you heal," Thierry replied.

"So explain to me what happened yesterday in San Francisco. Did you find a Wiccan?"

"We found a witch, but she wasn't Wiccan. She used to be but she did something that forced her out of the family. She wouldn't tell us but I had feeling she was. Call it a hunch."

"Tell me. I'm dying of boredom over here."

"You'll die of something else if you don't shut up," Derek said as he cleaned up the table. He pulled his chair over to the bed.

Stiles made a face and looked at Thierry expectantly. She sighed and launched into the tale of what she and Isaac had stumbled upon. He soaked up everything like a sponge, his brain working over time with the new information.

When the word hellhounds popped up, he nearly had a heart attack. His pulse rate shot up and he began to have a panic attack. His vision blurred as he gasped for breath. He was seeing bright golden eyes and smelling a foul odor. He was being dragged by his ankle from the field. His ankle was on fire then his shoulder where another set of razor sharp teeth sliced into the flesh.

He vaguely heard the door open and Melissa and Derek's voices mingling. He was in the room but he wasn't all at the same time. He heard Melissa calling out to him but he couldn't get to her. His hands were on fire once again. He brought them up to his face and looked at them. The flower from his dreams appeared on his hands.

Thierry's voice suddenly filtered in and the light on his hands grew brighter. He reached out and gripped whatever he could find. It felt a pressure on his forehead, wrist and hands. His fingers gripped something soft.

Slowly but surely he started coming out of his panic mode. When his eyes cleared, the first face he saw was Thierry's. He had her by the neck and was holding on tightly. She didn't seem to be in pain, but her eyes held concern for him. He turned his head to find red eyes staring at him. Derek was all Alpha right now. Melissa was by his side as well.

Carefully he dislodged himself from Thierry and laid back against the pillows. His heartbeat slowed but his hands were still burning. He saw his friends were in a very heightened state. Then he remembered the full moon was that night.

"What are you going to do?" he asked as his hands shook.

"We're staying here," Thierry replied. Derek grunted but didn't otherwise refute her. She moved to his side. "Let me see your hands."

He held them up and she took a picture of them. Scott had done the same thing but he wasn't sure if he had sent them to her. She flipped his hands to inspect them for anything else. When she was satisfied, she moved away and called someone. Melissa took her place and began to check his vitals.

Stiles noticed that Derek was hovering between the two of them. He was listening in on Thierry's conversation and Melissa's system's check. His eyes flashed dangerously as he Thierry said something he didn't like.

"It seems like everything's back to normal," Melissa said. "What caused the spike and attack?" When no one spoke, she put her hands on her hips and broke out the mothering tone. "If you don't tell me what's going on, I'm not letting him out."

"They said it was a hellhound that attacked me," Stiles said. Derek growled at him. "Wait? Do you expect me to stay here the entire time? It all means something. We just don't know what."

"What are hellhounds?"

"Exactly what they sound like. They're hounds from hell," Thierry said. "Most people only know them from Greek mythology, hellhounds such as Cerberus. They're creatures of death. We have reason to believe they have his scent and are tracking him to kill him."

"How do you stop a hellhound?" Stiles asked.

"We're not sure yet. That's what we're working on right now. Isaac's bringing by the books and we're going to figure it all out."

"We'll post a guard around the building while he's here," Derek said. "With Thierry and Isaac on the inside, it should al be fine for a bit. There's no way we can keep the entire place on lockdown so there will be a chance that they'll get inside."

"It's the full moon. You can't be here all night," Melissa said.

"It doesn't matter," Thierry said.

"Of course it matters. What are my superiors going to say when they find a silver wolf in the room of a patient who was attacked by wolves?" She looked at the woman, noticing the slight shake in her. "Are you more sensitive to the full moon than Scott?" When Thierry lifted her eyes, Melissa stepped back. They were bright blue. "What does that mean?"

Stiles threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He grabbed the rolling pole that held his IV fluids and walked as far as he could. His ankle flared up and he started to fall. He closed his eyes as he prepared to hit his knees. When it didn't happen, he looked up. Derek had him around the waist.

"Thanks," he muttered. Derek eased him into the chair as Thierry came over. "You have to go out into the woods tonight."

"I'm not leaving you tonight. Arguing won't change my mind," she said.

"You can't be around people. This is a hospital where people bleed and die. Plus it's the full moon and people go crazy on the full moon. More people die. You can't be here."

Stiles watched her face. Nothing he said had gotten through. She wasn't going to listen to anything he had to say. Her mind was made up and she wasn't backing down. So he made up his mind.

He pulled his hand away. "Get out." He watched her eyes widen as his words sank in. "Didn't you hear me? I said get out."

"Stiles." She was staring at him like she couldn't believe what he had just said.

"Get out!"

He felt really bad when she jerked as if she had been slapped. Her shoulders went ramrod straight and her face shut down. She looked at Derek briefly before she walked from the room. Melissa didn't know what to say as she watched the scene unfold. She looked between Derek and Stiles. Neither one said anything.

Isaac walked into the room with a mountain of books and nearly dropped them all. He looked from Melissa to Derek who was helping Stiles back into the bed.

"What happened?" he asked. No one answered. "Where's Thierry?"

"She just left. You would have seen her as you walked in," Derek said.

He looked out the door then back at the man. "I didn't see her. I would have but she didn't go my way."

"She would have taken the stairs," Melissa said.

Derek nodded. He made sure Stiles was situated in his bed and watching TV before he walked over to his pack mate. "Stay with Stiles. I'll send Boyd over to help. Go through those books and tell me whatever you find. Also ask Scott for a picture of Stiles' hands. Thierry has one but I doubt she's going to be willing to send it to you."

"All right. Is everything okay?" Isaac asked.

"No, but I'll handle it. Just get to work on those books."

Isaac was left without answers as Derek walked out of the door. It was nine in the morning and already the effects of the full moon was weighing down on everyone. It was especially gruesome for Scott and Thierry since they were the ones closest to Stiles. Thierry's voice on the phone had been tired and very strained when she had called him. He wanted to be mad at her for waking him at eight on a Saturday morning but hearing her voice had killed all the anger.

"What did you say to her?" he asked as he set the books down on the table.

"She wanted to stay during the full moon and I wouldn't let her," Stiles replied.

He nodded. "How much do you know?"

"They explained everything. I don't understand why it's me but it's been explained. Do you mind if I help? Being cooped up here is really killing me." Isaac looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, bad choice of words, but you know what I mean."

Isaac laughed at him then handed him half the books and a notebook. They worked in silence, even when Stiles' day showed up.

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Derek followed Thierry's scent back to the Hale House. He had picked up on the little quirk when he realized that sometimes she left her car at the depot. It had taken him a little bit to figure out where she had been going. She trekked dirt in the house all the time because she ran all the time. It hadn't been until recently that he had started tracking the dirt.

She was sitting in a tree when he showed up. Scott sat at the base of the tree talking about nothing in particular. Derek figured it was to keep her in the here and now and not let the wolf surface. He stood down wind so he couldn't smell if she was crying or not. He could tell she was upset because she was staring off into space. What Stiles had said really bothered her.

"Scott," he said as he walked up. The younger werewolf looked up. "I got it. Thanks."

Scott stood and dusted the dirt off his jeans. He looked up into the tree hoping he would get a wave or something. There was nothing so he sighed and walked away. Derek hated bringing the best friend of the hurt kid into this but someone other than him needed to get something out of her.

"Hey, Scott." He caught the kid's attention before he got too far away. "Go to the hospital and sit with Stiles. Isaac's there but it'd be easier if you were there."

When the kid was gone, he jumped and grabbed hold of the lowest hanging branch. He climbed the rest of the way to where his girlfriend sat.

"You know running away doesn't ease the problems," he said.

"I wasn't running away. I was running to think," she replied. "He doesn't want me in the hospital; but he can't stop me from being outside of the hospital."

"What are you going to do? Lay in wait in the bushes?" He looked over at her when she didn't answer and found her staring at him. "That could be a very bad idea."

"It's the only thing I have. He's right. I'm too volatile to be in the hospital on the full moon, but he didn't say anything about being outside. I figured if I could stay near the building I could scent the wind and find the handler."

"You're searching for the handler now?"

"Find the handler, find the hellhounds. It's the easiest way to put a stop to this."

Derek swung his legs and contemplated flipping to get down. "I know you think Keilani and Amelia are involved in this but I don't think they are."

"I know they're your friends but you can't sit there and tell me that you aren't suspicious about them as well. What murders start after two people arrive in town?"

"I just don't want to get involved when there's nothing there."

"It's there. You just don't see it." Her phone went off. She nearly fell out of the tree fishing it from her pocket. When she righted herself, she punched in her password and looked at it. "If you don't believe me after you see this, I don't know what else to tell you."

Derek took the device and looked it over. He scrolled through the photos and everything else she had pulled up. Blinking rapidly everything began to sank in. She wasn't just making assumptions. She was following her gut and putting the pieces together.

"What is this?" he asked.

He held up the phone for her. "That was in the book the woman gave us. It said this mark was given to those who thought they could trace their lineage all the way back to the druids. That's the mark of the druids. I researched as much as I could but there's nothing there. There is not any information on the druids. If there is, it's all locked up tightly."

"Why do you think druids or witches are involved?"

"I did some more research. Druids were Celtic by nature. I looked up as much information I could on the Dylans. It turns out everything you knew was a lie. Keilani's father's name was Dylan, Dylan O'Grady to be exact. His great-grandfather was an Irish immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1900 when he was a boy. He was institutionalized in 1945 because he thought he was a witch. He was hanged for murder in 1950 after slicing a man's throat. He left behind an adult son, Ian O'Grady. Ian had a son named Dylan but Dylan went by his middle name, Charles. He legally changed his name to Charles Dylan in 1979 at the age of eighteen. It was a year before he married Amelia Bryant."

"How did you trace all of this back?"

"I didn't. Joseph did. I looked up everything about the druids. Believe it or not there are some things even I can't crack. I leave it up to my old Alpha to get me past all the firewalls."

"Okay, that makes sense, but Keilani is Welsh."

"No, Amelia is Welsh. Black Welsh to be exact. That's why her skin coloring is such an olive tone. Combine Celtic lore and Welsh lore into one and you get a combination that is causing murders."

"A Molotov cocktail of dark magic." Thierry nodded. "What about the symbol?"

"It's an inverted pentagram. Satanists use them in the rituals. Usually pentagrams mean protection. They have been used in white rituals for centuries."

He looked at her. "White rituals?"

"It's a term that we use when we talk about good magic. What we're looking at is something dark. The magic has to be powerful enough to bind a hellhound handler to who is casting the spell. As long as the handler is under the spell, the hellhounds are at the witch's beck and call."

"So no matter what we do, they're going after Stiles?" She nodded. "You didn't tell Isaac this for a reason. You knew Stiles was going to argue and throw you out. Even though it still hurt, you let him. You also knew I'd follow you."

"And while we were out here, you would be forced to listen to me unbiased."

Derek stared out over what was once his home. The county had reclaimed the land but it was still his. He felt the pull of it even as he sat in a tree at its border. He knew she had chosen this place because he would be more open to theories. The twins had been right. It wasn't a theory anymore. Thierry, Stiles, and Isaac had cracked it wide open and it was now a law.

He didn't say a word as he started to climb his way down the tree. He looked up and motioned her to follow him. She smiled at him and pushed her body off the tree. He caught her with a grunt then bit her nose in chastisement. She kissed his chin in return then dropped to her feet.

"Do your plan. Get your brother and hide out in the bushes around the hospital," he said as they started back towards the car.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'm going to talk to Keilani."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Spoiler alert! I had no idea the show would take the turn it did. I was just writing! Creepy!

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Keilani smiled as she opened the door. "Derek! What a pleasant surprise."

Derek lifted his head and looked at her. He heard the passion in her voice but he also heard the happiness. She knew he was going to be showing up at her door. It made him even more suspicious of her than he already was.

She stepped back so he could enter the house. When he did, multiple scents swept through his nostrils. He smelled thyme and cinnamon and a couple of other of herbs that could be found in a house. He shook his head because it was bothering him. With the full moon that night, he was super sensitive.

"Derek?" Keilani asked. "Is everything all right?"

He looked at her but he couldn't make out her face. He shook his head once again to make sure it wasn't just him. His head swam. Then his knees gave way and he collapsed to the floor. Keilani was hovering over him, concern filling her eyes. Then he saw past all of it. He saw that she was the one controlling the spell that he was under.

He felt his wolf trying to cleanse out his system. It wasn't working. The more he cleansed the more it infiltrated his system. He felt something he never thought he'd feel. He never thought he'd feel someone trying to rip away the bond he had with his mate. But that was what Keilani was trying to do. She was trying to make him feel something for her when in reality he felt nothing.

He felt his wolf taking control. His teeth elongated and he felt his eyes burn. No doubt they were turning red as he allowed the full moon to take over him. He shrugged Keilani's hand off and stood, snarling as he faced her. He wasn't surprised when she stood up slowly.

"Well, it seems my little plan hasn't worked," she said. "I guess the power of a mating bond it stronger than any magic I can conjure."

"What do you want?" he snarled.

"What do you think I want? I want power. That also includes the most powerful man in the city. But I can't have what I want when there is someone standing in my way."

"You want to harm Thierry? You'll have to go through me."

"It's not Thierry I want."

It took Derek a minute to think. He was the Alpha and she didn't want him? Scott was a Beta with Alpha potential but nothing she had done said anything about her wanting him. Who had more power than Derek in the town?

It struck him about the same time Keilani threw another spell at him. He dodged and pulled out his phone. He had to send a text to Thierry or Terrence before they discharged Stiles from the hospital. There his entire family was protected because of the guards and his pack. None of them would let anyone into the building. But at home they were susceptible to attack.

He got the text sent out just as he was attacked. Keilani grabbed him by the throat and choke slammed him into the glass table. Pieces bit into his skin and drew blood but he was healing. He wrapped his legs around her waist and turned, pinning her beneath him. She smiled up at him.

Something grabbed him by his collar and tossed him backwards. He hit the wall hard and fell face first to the floor. He smelled someone else come into the room but he couldn't get up to defend himself. There were two more snarls and two familiar scents filtered into his nose. Cora and Boyd had come to help him.

"You think you can protect your Alpha?" Keilani asked.

"I can protect my brother," Cora said. Boyd seconded that with a snarl that shook the house.

Keilani smiled then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Cora helped Derek to his feet. He looked at her and smiled. Even though he had told her not to come she had come anyway. That was the way of the pack. She would know when he was in danger, so would everyone else.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I should be mad at you for not listening to me but I've learned that women are very free thinkers," he replied.

"It's called it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission." She checked him over then shoved her hands into her pockets. "What's going on?"

"I know who they're after. We have to get to the hospital."

"Stiles was released twenty minutes ago."

Derek let a curse fly from his mouth as he ran from the house. The two followed him as he jumped into his car. They didn't ask questions, just trusted him completely.

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Stiles walked into his living room and sighed. A day in the hospital was no walk in the park. Doctors poking and prodding him had annoyed him but there wasn't much that hadn't annoyed him that day.

After he had kicked Thierry out of his room, his mood had just plummeted. The only time he had gone without talking to her on a daily basis was when she had disappeared for three weeks. He had pretended he was all right but in reality he wasn't. He hadn't even had the chance to see what the bond was capable of. Lydia had gone through the same thing. She hadn't known anything about the bond she had with Terrence and she had had a hard time.

Now that they were both back it had gotten easier. Terrence and Lydia's bond had deepened to the point that they didn't even have to talk to know what each other was thinking. Stiles liked to say that his bond was deep enough that he could call and she would know immediately. She had proved his point when she had just come over to the house after he had called her.

Not talking to her was killing him. They always had a text conversation going even when he was in school. He checked his phone once again for a text. When he saw he had none, he tossed it onto the table. His dad came into the living room with a cup of lemonade. He raised an eyebrow at the discarded phone.

"You're the one who told her to leave," he said. "You can't be surprised when she doesn't text you."

"I didn't think she'd actually do it," he replied. "She's never listened to me before."

"You were pretty mad at her," Isaac said as he came into the living room with a box of cookies.

"I wasn't mad! I was annoyed."

"It's the same thing, Stiles," John said. His son made a face when he didn't like the way he spoke to him. "I know you and the Alexanders have an interesting relationship going on, but you can't lead the woman on."

"I'm not leading her on. And why aren't you mad about a twenty-six year old woman hanging out with your sixteen year old son?"

"Thierry's with Derek. There's no way she would come on to you like that," Isaac said with a laugh. His phone went off in his pocket. He was smiling like a loon when he pulled it out, but the smile dropped immediately. "Where's Terrence?"

"He said he had to take care of something before he came home," John replied. "Is everything all right?"

Isaac was shaking his head just as the window exploded inward. Two black dogs that stunk jumped through the window. Stiles started to panic as the hellhounds started to stalk him. There wasn't much stalking going on since he was sitting on the couch. His dad jumped up and ran to the new gun cabinet that Thierry had replaced since she smashed the old one.

He was getting ready to yell when one of the hounds attacked him. He threw his hands up in defense. The hellhound yelped and retreated. Stiles looked at his hands to see them glowing with the strange flower he had seen in his dreams.

He was trying to figure out what was going on with him when he heard his dad cry out. Turning, he found the hellhound had his dad by the ankle and was dragging him out the front door. What kind of evil guy actually used the front door? He jumped up to try and held but the sudden movement made his ankle flame. He collapsed and tried to drag himself over to his dad.

He was crying when Thierry and Terrence burst through the back door. They grabbed the hellhounds' snouts and pried their mouths off the sheriff's ankle. They tossed the hounds out the door and stood still. Isaac backed them up, keeping his body between the door and Stiles.

Stiles noticed that Thierry and Terrence were fully human. They hadn't turned and the full moon was up and shining brightly. How they had held the change off he didn't know but he was extremely glad they had.

Thierry was in full protection mode when Keilani and Amelia showed up in a gust of blue smoke. Keilani motioned to her mother. Amelia jerked John up. Stiles was pulling himself to his feet and trying to get to his dad when Thierry stepped in front of him. When Keilani made a face at her, she attacked. There must have been a protective barrier around the woman because the wolf just bounced right off.

"Thanks for keeping your dad in perfect condition for us," Keilani said. "We'll be taking him now."

Thierry was getting up when the handler blocked her way. Her eyes widened as if she had seen a ghost. She was fumbling to get up when Derek came through the door. He went into Alpha mode instantly but Terrence placed a hand over his chest. He shook his head when the Alpha growled at him. Derek tried to go past him, but the blond headed man grabbed him.

"No," he said forcefully using his dominance as a means to make the other man understand.

Stiles watched as his friend clambered to her feet, looking on the verge of tears. She grabbed the man's shirt as if she was going to step up to kiss him. Instead she punched him then shoved him into the wall.

"Why?!" she cried. "Why are you dong this?"

"Why else? It's because of the power rush. You used to understand that. You used to be under the rush of the full moon. You used to run like the wild creature you are. Now you sit at home with teenage betas and a mate who doesn't understand what it's like to let go," he replied.

She didn't answer him with words. She unsheathed her claws, something Stiles had never seen. The other guy smiled and did the same, going into a crouch before he charged. Thierry grabbed him by the shirt and tossed him from the house, stalking him as he rolled to his feet.

"You knew exactly where I was and who I was with. You've been stalking us all from the get go," she accused.

He laughed. "You're right. When Joseph told me you had left the pack, I knew you were doing what you're instinct had commanded you. But I also knew that you would do whatever it took to make sure your new pack was safe. It made sense to come after you." He looked at the guys in the doorway. "Imagine my surprise when I find out the legends are true."

"If you so much as touched one hair on their heads, I will rip you to shreds."

"You don't have the backbone to kill your own brother."

"No brother of mine would try to kill his sister's mate."

"Thierry!"

She turned around to see the hounds attacking her friends. Derek and Isaac were doing their best to keep four hellhounds from getting back inside the house. She was going back to them when he tackled her from behind. He grabbed her throat and started choking her. She heard her name being called. It was Stiles. He wanted her to change but she couldn't when she couldn't breathe.

Stiles tried his best to get past his friends and go to the woman but they were holding him back. They weren't going to let him get by in his state. He was injured but adrenaline was pumping through his veins. His dad had been taken by a crazy woman and her mother. Now his friends were trying to keep him from being attacked again.

Then he remembered what Deaton had given him when he had come to visit that morning. He hobbled to his bag and pulled out the little baggy of mountain ash. Hobbling back to the door, he was pulling the dust from the bag. His palms started heating up.

"Move," he said as he stared at his hand. No one listened to him. "Move!"

Isaac was the first to turn. When he saw what he was holding, he grabbed Terrence's shirt. Terrence in turn grabbed Derek's and Derek grabbed his sister's. Stiles walked past them and flung the dust on the hounds. They yelped and screamed and howled as they disappeared back into the ground.

"Let her go or you will suffer the same affects as your God awful mutts," he said.

The handler looked up from where he was still choking his sister. He smiled a toothy grin then abandoned his first post. Stiles heard Thierry cough so he knew she was still alive. Just at the moment he had something else he needed to worry about.

"What are you going to do, little boy?" he asked as he walked forward. "You're not a werewolf so I could tear your innards and you won't heal. Or I could cut your throat."

"You won't do either." He gripped the dust in his hand tightly. "You will not harm her anymore. If you do, I'll kill you."

The werewolf laughed. "Kill me? You can barely stand. You can't kill me."

"Maybe not, but I know who can."

The other guy looked confused. Then his face contorted into shock. Stiles looked down to see a hand sticking from his chest. Thierry's head popped up over his shoulder. Her eyes were blue and she was staring at him. He did the only thing he knew that would keep the guy from healing.

He handed her the rest of the mountain ash.

Thierry was in pain as she took the ash. Slowly she pulled her hand back through her brother's body, dropping a little bit of the ash as she did so. He screamed as his body burned from the inside out. He dropped to his knees then looked up at her.

"Killed by my sister," he said. He smiled then his eyes went lifeless and he slumped down face first.

Stiles moved as fast as he could. He caught Thierry after she stepped over the body and fell to her knees. She was in shock and he didn't blame her. She had killed her brother in his defense. There were more snarls and growls. He turned to his right and nearly peed on himself when he saw the hellhounds coming his way. The others moved to his side.

"No, stop," Thierry said. "I know what's going on. The spell that was used was a handler's spell, but it was tweaked."

Terrence nodded as he understood. "If the previous handler dies, the spell latches itself onto the killer. In this case it's you. You can control the hellhounds at will."

Thierry turned around and looked at the body. "Why did they have to use Trevor?"

"Maybe they thought you wouldn't kill him," Isaac suggested. "Obviously they didn't know the power of the bonds this pack have."

"No, it was something more," Terrence said. "And it's something dark. We can't go back to San Francisco to figure it out. We don't have time. We have to find John before they summon whatever thing they want to come up."

"Will Deaton know?" Derek asked.

"He might. He knows a lot about a lot of stuff."

"Way to be vague," Isaac said as he walked over to Thierry and Stiles. "We can't leave a body in the front yard. Someone might get suspicious."

"Call the Argents. They'll know what to do," Thierry said as she stood. She threw Stiles' arm around her neck and started moving to the house. "Isaac, call the twins. Tell the to met us at the vet's. They know more than they're letting on."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** There's a little spoiler at the beginning of this chapter. Just an FYI.

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Stiles sat in the back of Terrence's car with his arm draped across Thierry. The woman was flopped out across the seat with her face buried in his hip. Her booted foot was pressed against the window, mud smeared on the once pristine glass. She had finished crying not too long ago and now was staring at the ceiling of the car.

He watched Derek turn around in the front seat and look at them. After Thierry had killed Trevor, he had told them what he thought was the reason their brother had been chosen. To become a strong Alpha like Deucalion, an Alpha had to kill his entire pack and absorb their powers. Since Thierry was considered an Alpha, he figured that Trevor had been chosen because he was one of the only people she wouldn't kill unless had to.

He had been right of course. Thierry would never kill family no matter how much she wanted. Stiles had argued that point but Terrence made a point as well. If Stiles, Derek, and most of the pack hadn't been at the house, she would have taken Trevor somewhere secluded and fought him. Instead she had done what instinct called for. She had killed him because he had not only endangered her mate, but also Stiles. It was her responsibility to defend him.

When they had gotten in the car, Derek argued about sitting in the front seat. He had wanted Stiles up front so he could comfort Thierry, but Terrence had pulled out the Alpha tone and the other man quit arguing. Isaac sat in the very back with his head against the window. He was supposed to have gone with Cora and Boyd but he had argued that he was strong enough to deal with the twins. His real reason was to protect Stiles should he need it. Derek was going to argue once again but a look from Terrence silenced him.

Stiles looked down when Thierry shifted. She grabbed his hand and began studying the pattern engraved on his palm. He was still surprised that his little idiotic scheme had worked. He really hadn't thought through what he was doing when he grabbed the mountain ash. All he remembered was that he needed to protect his friends as they had attempted to protect him. His hand had burned the hottest when he had picked up the dust and flung it at the hellhounds. He remembered how hot it had been when Thierry took the remaining ash from him and pulled it through her brother's body. That had been hard to watch.

He shivered a little when she traced the pattern with the tip of her finger. She was engrossed in what she was doing that she didn't see Derek's eyes glow with aggression. Obviously he was still hot about not being able to save his mate the pain of hurting her brother. Stiles felt that if Terrence interfered with this one Derek was going to give him a run for his money. It would be an even fight but one that would send the female wolf back into a depression.

Suddenly she sat up, her forehead colliding with Stiles' nose. He was trying to see if it was bleeding when she grabbed his hand. When she blew across his palm, it elicited another shiver from the virgin teen. He was so not used to someone doing this to him. Though she was way out of his league and untouchable for various reasons, Stiles had always thought she was hot. He had imagined that if she was eight years younger he would have tried to go after her. As it was she was bonded to him in a nonsexual way, and he was jailbait, but it didn't stop him from having those thoughts. The death glare Derek was giving him from the front seat put a damper on any other thoughts he might have.

"I…Isaac," Thierry said. Her voice was heavy and thick with unshed tears.

The curly blond wolf leaned over the back seat. "Yeah?" He was being gentle when all he really wanted to do was rip out whoever's throat.

"Do you still have the Polish Lore book?"

Isaac disappeared behind the seat once again as he rummaged in his backpack for the book she had requested. Thierry hadn't lifted her head from Stiles' hand. A minute or so later, Isaac thumped her on the shoulder with the book. She took it and began to flip through the pages with one had while the other held his hand open.

She found a page and held it open. She motioned Isaac to hold the book. The other wolf had a hard time holding it open at the angle he was in. Finally Isaac just climbed over the seat and practically sat on Thierry's lap. Stiles looked towards the front seat again. Derek was angry that Isaac was so close.

Thierry looked between the book and Stiles' hand. She frowned as she read what the book said then she was going back and forth from the book to his hand again. She got this look on her face that Stiles totally didn't like. And he was right not to like it when she blew on his hand. His skin started to burn and glow at the same time. The imprint on his hand burned bright as the picture in the book.

"What is it?" Terrence asked.

"The book reads that the flower on his hand is a fire flower. In Polish lore the time a fire flower can be found is on the Eve of Kupala. The seeker must cast a circle and fight demons to get the flower. If you answer the voices or fail in the task, you would sacrifice your life. It's said anyone possessing the flower can read minds, find treasure and repel evil," she said.

Stiles did a little happy dance in his seat. "That is awesome!"

"How evil are hellhounds?" Derek asked.

"Depends on who's controlling them. They were evil when Trevor was controlling them, but with Thierry, it could be something completely different. She can control them to attack the ones holding on to John," Terrence replied. "I'm concerned though. How did Stiles come about having that mark? It says the person seeking. Obviously Stiles has never sought a flower in his life. How did he get the mark?"

"It could have been ingested by him at some point," Isaac said.

Stiles thought a minute then dropped his head back to the headrest. Thierry looked up at him. "I think I know. My mom was sick a lot when she pregnant with me. My dad did a lot to try to help her. I don't know what he did in the beginning, but he did something in her eighth month."

"Do you know what he did?" Thierry asked.

He shrugged. "Maybe. Have you seen the movie Tangled?" Everyone looked at him. "Don't judge, but anyway the queen is sick while she's pregnant. Her husband did whatever it took to make sure she and the baby survive. He had his guards search for this flower to make her well. I think that's what happened with my mom."

Thierry leaned between the front seats. "Terr, it makes sense. If this flower was made into a medicine and she drank it, the flower wouldn't bother her. It would be Stiles that it affected."

Terrence pulled into the animal clinic parking lot and shut the car off. Twin motorcycles sat in one spot. "The affects of the flower would also give him powers that even he wouldn't understand, powers that would give him an edge over evil."

She started vibrating with excitement as it all started clicking into place. "So the flower would engrave its pattern somewhere on his body. Since he touched the mountain ash, the flower started the process of giving him powers that we don't understand. Maybe it gives him the power over fire."

The older twin shook his head. "It amazes me where your brain goes when you get excited."

Stiles grunted as Thierry climbed over him to get out of the car. He glared at Isaac as the other guy laughed at him. He smacked him in the back of the head then scrambled to get out before the werewolf retaliated. He slammed into Derek as he fought to catch his balance. The older werewolf grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled up beside him.

Thierry and Terrence led the way into the vet's office. Deaton was going to be there no matter the hour. The twins were also there and by the looks of it, Scott was there as well. Deaton was in the examination room with the guys when they walked in. Derek huffed up immediately, but Stiles knew nothing was going to come of it. The mountain ash was keeping them as calm as it was able.

Aidan and Ethan straightened when Thierry sat down before them. Stiles knew they were learning to trust the other Alpha because she was being nice to them. He knew she wouldn't be hostile with anyone unless they deserved it. Since he'd been going with her to see them, he'd notice that she tended to be a mothering figure to them. It showed how much they respected her.

Scott, Derek, and Isaac spread out around the room. They were being careful because they were still part of the Alpha Pack no matter whom they talked to. Thierry glared at them until they sat down across from her. They started fidgeting when she stared at them too long.

"What's this about?" Deaton asked.

"John Stilinski was taken an hour ago. The witches targeted him in the beginning. We thought it was Derek they were after but they weren't. They used some sort of spell on him, but we don't know what the scents are," Thierry said.

"Is it all right if we can smell him?" Aidan asked.

Stiles bit back a laugh, but it was hard to do when Thierry's shoulders shook. Derek looked rather perturbed about the question. He looked at Thierry, but she refused to look at him. She was enjoying it way too much. Terrence finally nudged him in the shoulder.

"Fine," he finally agreed. "But you're the one who does it."

Thierry broke. "Are you afraid he's going to turn you?"

Everyone laughed when he threw a clipboard at her. No one else was able to do that because Derek would kill them. Aidan waited until Thierry nodded. He carefully made his way to the older man. Derek snarled at him to make a point but he went through with it anyway. Aidan stepped into his personal space and pressed his nose behind his ear. Derek jerked his head a little bit at the weird sensation but didn't move.

Finally Aidan stepped back and returned to his chair. "It's a normal love spell with acacia, cinnamon, cloves, columbine, damiana, ginseng, thyme, and," he started laughing, "catnip."

Stiles started laughing as well. "Why would someone use catnip against a werewolf?"

"It brings out the wild side," Deaton replied. "Acacia is used for love and physical strength."

"I have enough physical strength," Derek said.

"But this herb heightens it. I think it was just used because she wanted you to assume that you were in love with her. She might have figured that if you felt you were in love with her that you would walk away from Thierry. I don't think they understand how mating bonds work."

Thierry snapped her fingers and the twins looked at her. She looked between the two. The first one to look away from her was the one she focused on. That just happened to be Ethan.

Stiles thought a fight was about to break out. Thierry and Ethan stared at each other. Their Alpha powers came into play. Ethan's eyes changed to bright red. Thierry countered with her bright blue eyes. He tried to keep pace with her but there was no denying her when she ran her hand up his thigh. It would have worked if she was a guy but she obviously wasn't. She unsheathed her claws right in the meaty part of his thigh. Ethan flinched but didn't break eye contact.

"Ethan?" The other Alpha broke eye contact once again as Danny came around the corner. He looked between the people gathered, his eyes lingering on a battered Stiles for a little too long. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. Just wait for me outside," Ethan replied.

"Grab him," Thierry said. Terrence didn't hurt the boy but it made Ethan jump a little bit. "I won't bring him into this but you will tell me what you know."

"If you're not going to hurt him, then why hold on to him?" His eyes were flicking between her and Danny. He was making sure she was keeping her word.

"Incentive for you to tell the truth."

"I've told you the truth!"

Thierry grabbed the back of his neck and made him look her in the eye. She saw Aidan move out of the corner of her eye but didn't pay him any mind. She had Ethan and she wasn't letting go.

"There's a man missing and I want to know where they would take him," she said.

Ethan was scared. Stiles figured he'd never been this scared before. He'd known Danny and Ethan had started something and the Alpha had settled down somewhat. Thierry knew what she was doing when she pulled Danny into the middle of it without telling him anything. Ethan would do what he had to do to protect the guy.

"Promise you won't hurt him?" he asked.

"Why would I hurt him?" she replied.

"Then why take him?" She tilted her head. "He's not in any danger is he?" She shook her head. He sighed. "They would have to be somewhere near nature, like the reserve. What they're planning would require a strong tree, like oak. The herbs you found at the other scenes would be used as well. Plus the handler will be there. You'll have to deal with him."

"That can be arranged. Anything else?"

"Just let him go."

She looked back at Stiles. He nodded because he knew she was just checking to make sure he would be safe. She let go of Ethan and motioned for her brother to let the other guy go. She wrapped her hand around Danny's wrist and pulled him to her. When Danny looked down at her, he couldn't look away. Stiles knew what that meant. She was trying to read him and convey a silent message all at the same time.

"Get out of here and take him with you. Don't say a word about what you've heard tonight," she said as she shoved him towards the other wolf.

The twins towed Danny out of the exam room. Deaton turned to look at the group assembled before him. They were on a mission and he was certain they were going to ask him for more help than he had already given. He had helped them when it came to the Alpha Pack twins now he was going to do more than he usually bargained for.

"What was it about the handler?" he asked.

"I never said anything about the handler," Thierry replied as she pulled herself onto the metal exam table. She began to swing her legs as if she were a kid.

"You didn't have to say anything. It was in the way the others reacted." He tilted his head as he pierced her with a look. "What have you done?"

"They sent our brother after us," Terrence replied. Deaton's attention was diverted and Scott looked shocked. "He was the handler."

"What happened to him?" Scott asked.

"Thierry killed him," Stiles replied. He stepped up to the silver table and leaned his shoulder into his friend. "Apparently the spell they used to control the hellhounds was transferred to her when he died."

"A handler spell." Stiles nodded and Deaton covered his mouth. "So the spell latches onto you and you become the handler? Thierry, do you know how bad that is?"

"Trevor threatened my pack, my mate, and my bond. I had to do something." Stiles noticed she started to shake again. He grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together. She looked down for a split second then back up. Deaton didn't miss it either. "There's one more thing. What can you tell me about this?"

Deaton looked at Stiles' free hand and his eyes grew wide. The two looked at him because they knew he knew what was going on.

"When did this come about?" he asked.

"At the game. I was attacked by hellhounds. It didn't stay until after my dad was taken tonight. I took some mountain ash and tossed it at the hellhounds. Then I handed some to Thierry so she could stop her brother," Stiles said.

Deaton looked stunned. "You gave some to Thierry? That stuff will burn her hand." He grabbed her free hand and looked it over. "Your hand is covered in blood."

She looked up at him with the eyes of a puppy except they were green. "It was the only way I could stop him. I couldn't run. So I shoved my hand through his chest."

He pieced it together. "Then Stiles handed you the dust and you pulled it through his chest as well." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Scott, take her to the back and wash off her hand. Make sure you get under the fingernails as well. She won't heal if you don't."

The other teen did as he was asked. When they were gone, Deaton crossed his arms and looked at the other wolves gathered in the room. It was strange to see them all acting like a pack. Usually Derek was barking orders and no one was listening.

"Stiles is a powerful person to have your side," he said. "With the fire flower engrained in his system, he can do unthinkable things. He can repel evil things, such as ghosts and hellhounds, or he can summon fire."

Stiles bit his lip at the last part. He was so excited about the fire bit. That was something he had always wanted to do and now he was given the chance.

"That is so cool!" he said. He flailed about for a minute or two in what the others assumed was a happy dance.

"When I said you were the spark, I meant it."

He looked at the veterinarian. "You knew?"

"I was the one who gave your mother the medicine that saved your life. When she got sick the last time, your father asked me if there was anything else I could do to help her. There wasn't and I felt so bad."

Stiles was left staring at the man. This entire time he had been involved with his family and he hadn't known it. He kept secrets from his dad, mainly ones dealing with the werewolves. But his dad had kept a huge one about his mom. It hurt that his dad didn't trust him with some information. Then again Stiles didn't have a good track record with keeping it cool where his mom was concerned.

"We don't have time for this, Stiles," Terrence said after a few minutes. "You can ask Deaton anything you want after we deal with this and get your dad back."

The younger guy shook his head as if to clear it. He vaguely heard Terrence's question, but he was clear to hear the answer.

"Go to the north section of the preserve," Deaton said. "There is an old oak tree that's been here for over three hundred years. That's where they will be performing their ritual. You have to get there before midnight or whatever they're summoning will be brought to earth."

Stiles swung by the second exam room on his way out the door. Scott was bent over Thierry's hand with a cotton swab. He was talking quietly to the still slightly dazed woman. Derek stepped up beside him and watched as well. The other werewolf relayed the message Deaton had said. Scott turned around briefly then finished what he was doing. They were walking out to the parking lot when Stiles finally talked to Thierry.

"Are you going to be able to go tonight? I mean it is the full moon and you did just kill your brother," he said as he held the door open for her to climb in.

Isaac smacked him in the back of the head as he climbed in. "Idiot, don't say stuff like that."

Stiles made a face at him then looked at his friend. "Thi?" She was staring out across the parking lot to the woods. "What is it?"

"Find the oak tree. I'll be there as soon as I can," she said.

Derek slammed the front passenger door. "What are you thinking?"

"I need to see the twins again. Ethan was pissed at me when I pulled Danny in the middle of this. I didn't want to but it was the only way to scare them into talking. I need to make sure the ground we made wasn't broken." She looked at them. "The only thing is they're with Deucalion."

The Alpha snorted. "No. You're not going."

"Then come with me but we need the help. If we can pull the twins into it, we'll have more fire power than they can deal with."

He thought about it for maybe a minute. "Terrence, you know what to do."

The other blond in the group nodded his head. "Yeah, I'll keep you updated with where we go."

Thierry smiled slightly then took off in the opposite direction than the woods. Stiles wondered if Derek going with her was such a good idea. He didn't have time to think about it because Terrence got in the car and started it up.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Sorry it's taken so long to update. I had a little bit of writer's block. It's almost done though.

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Derek wasn't certain he could keep up the grueling pace for much longer. After the night he'd had already he was certain he was going to die of exhaustion before he could even get to where Deucalion's pack was even hiding out. Plus he had to think about Danny. The human had to be with Ethan because there was no way he was going to go without some sort of explanation.

He could feel the moon rising. Instinct told him to shift but he needed to help the ones who needed him most. He wasn't the only one fighting the shift that night. Thierry was as well. He could feel it in the way she pushed herself. There was no doubt in his mind that she was running so she could deal with the pain that was bothering her.

He wondered how long it would be until she could summon the hellhounds. They would need the extra help if they had any chance at defeating the witches or druids or whatever they were. He also hoped that the twins would help them instead of killing them. Thierry was right. Ethan had been mad at her when she let them go an hour ago. There was no telling what he would do. Derek remembered the first time she had met them. They had pulled her arms out of their sockets. He didn't want to know what they were going to do to her now.

They came to a very posh neighborhood on the north side of town. Derek followed Thierry until they came to a really nice house. It had a fence around it and a security system to go along with it. He figured Deucalion had chosen this place for a reason. The old bank was out of the question now that it had been compromised. He needed something that wouldn't cause a scene.

They stopped in front of the gate. He watched his mate rip the wires out of the security system then kick the gates in. She wasn't playing around. She was determined to see the twins even if it cost her life. Derek didn't like these kinds of games but they were the only things they had left to bargain with. John Stilinski's life was in danger. They had to do something.

Derek thought his mate had lost her mind when she threw open the front door of the house. He could sense that she was working to hold down her anger but it wasn't working. The full moon was taking its toll.

They hadn't gone five feet into the house when Thierry was attacked from behind. Derek was shoved to the side as if he had no part in the fight. He didn't but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try and help. Unfortunately, Kali made sure he didn't go anywhere near Ethan as he unleashed his anger on the woman who put Danny in danger.

He was correct when he saw Aidan standing off to the side as his brother took his frustrations out on Thierry. He looked upset but he wasn't angry. He seemed to pity the woman.

Deucalion walked in with the other Alpha, Ennis he thought his name was. Ennis made a face as Ethan tossed Thierry into the wall. None of them were going to stop him even if he almost killed her.

"Ethan? Stop!"

Suddenly Danny was standing in front of the younger twin. Ethan stopped and stared at him. Knowing the other guy wouldn't harm him, Danny turned and held a hand out to Thierry. She looked up at him then took his hand. He wrapped a well-muscled arm around her shoulders and held her against him. Her nails scraped through his t-shirt on accident but he didn't flinch.

"What the hell is your problem?" he asked the other man.

"She put you in danger," Ethan said.

"All she did was have some guy hold me. He didn't hurt me so why are you doing this to her? Answer me, Ethan."

When the other guy didn't answer him, Danny turned to the woman he was holding. He had seen her with Stilinski and McCall a couple of times but he had never had the chance to talk to her. He pushed her away from him then examined her face. Her eye was bruised and there was cut above her eyebrow. Her lip was busted and oozing. Her eyes were dilated.

"Wow," he muttered. "I've never seen such a vivid blue." He felt her muscles contract as she inhaled quickly. Then she winced. Broken ribs. "Are you all right? He didn't hurt you too bad did he?"

She shook her head. "No, not too bad."

He grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it to wipe the blood away from her lip. He could have sworn he heard growling but he wasn't sure. "What's your name?"

"Thierry." She pushed away from him. "Thanks, but I need to talk to Ethan."

She walked up to him. Derek knew the exact moment when Ethan understood. He could hit, punch, kick, and throw her around, but Thierry was going to get what she wanted. He could feel the dominance rolling off her and it drug him to his knees. The full moon and a determined Alpha was something he couldn't deny. One by one, every Alpha in the room dropped to one knee. Even Deucalion dropped. That one was a surprise but it didn't matter at the time. The only ones left standing were Danny and Thierry.

Thierry turned a circle. "I need your help. All of you. I know we're on different sides but we have a common enemy. If we don't ban together, we'll all be destroyed. I ask for one night of peace. No one tries to kill each other. We work for the common goal."

"Why should we trust you?" Ethan asked.

"Because if you don't, Danny will die."

Danny looked at her then. "What are you talking about?"

She ignored him and focused on Ethan completely. "If we don't stop this tonight, hell will be brought on earth and everyone will be killed. I know how much you like Danny. We all like Danny. He's a good guy. Do you really want to be around when he's torn into pieces? I've seen someone torn to pieces. It's not fun. So what do you want to do? Do you want to see him killed? Or do you want to protect him?"

Ethan took too long to answer. She turned to Danny and whispered something to him. When he nodded, she walked behind him, kicked his feet out from under him, grabbed him by the hair and held a knife to his throat. Ethan came unglued but couldn't get up due to the affects of the full moon. Derek watched quietly, ready to pounce if he was needed.

"This is what will happen to him. Then his body will be strung up and he'll be bashed in the head. People will think it's a gay bashing but you'll know different. You'll know it was because you couldn't be a man and step up to protect him. Then you'll fly off the handle and get yourself killed. What good will that do him? You can't avenge him because you'll be dead."

"Fine!" Ethan shouted. His voice was gravelly as he fought his change. His fingers dug into the floor, scoring the marble. "I'll help you. Just please don't hurt him."

Danny easily moved the knife from his throat. "She was never going to hurt me. She did it to prove a point."

"If we help you," Deucalion said, "what do we get in return?"

Derek knew the second things had gone from something he knew was happening to something he had no idea. Thierry looked at him with really tender eyes. He read her intention there and tried to get up. She closed her eyes to him and that allowed him to get up. He walked over to her and pressed his forehead against her temple.

"Don't do it," he whispered.

"I have to. It's the only way to get their help," she replied.

He fisted his hand in her palm and let her cover it with her hand. He felt the moment when she decided.

"Well?" Deucalion was just waiting. He knew that she was going to do whatever she had to do to keep her pack safe.

"I'll do whatever you want except for killing my own pack," she replied.

Deucalion smiled. "After we help you, you return to the house tonight."

"Right."

"What do we have to do?"

"We have until midnight."

"Which is in thirty minutes," Aidan said.

They sat down to make a quick plan. Derek still didn't trust the Alpha Pack, but Thierry was right. They had a common enemy.

(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)

Stiles rode in the front seat with Terrence. Isaac and Scott were in the back seat making plans. Allison and Lydia had been told to stay home because this was too dangerous. They had argued that Stiles was as killable as they were but Stiles had a new found ability that he was going to learn to harness.

It was fifteen minutes to midnight and they still hadn't found the old oak tree in the preserve. Deaton had been certain that the oak tree had to be the focus of the whole thing. If he was right, and he usually was, they would find them, but Stiles was losing hope of ever finding his dad before everything went to hell.

He glanced at Terrence. Something was bothering the other werewolf. Terrence wasn't the type to be cornered by anything. He was also very sensitive to his sister being gone. For twenty-six years, he had had to deal with his sister's shift. Now there were two others that could help her. He felt lost and right now was the same.

"She'll be fine," he said.

"She's going to do something stupid to keep everyone safe," Terrence replied.

"You would do the same."

Terrence didn't say anything. Stiles was right. They were wired to be fearless and to put the good of the many above the good of the few. Thierry had a better track record with putting others before herself, but this time he felt she was just being stupid.

"What would you do, Stiles, if you were a werewolf?" he asked.

"I'd make sure this never happened."

"Hey, guys, we think we found the oak," Scott said. "Deaton sent us the coordinates and Isaac plugged them into his phone."

"How far are we away?" Terrence asked.

"Two miles."

The older man punched the accelerator and the car lurched into the woods. It was a good thing he bought an off road vehicle when he traded in his other SUV. It wouldn't have ended well if he hadn't. The car moved agilely through the trees with just a simple turn of his wrist.

Stiles held on to the oh-shit handle and leaned in to the turns. If Isaac's phone was right, they would be at the sight in a few minutes. He wanted to get his dad and get out. He wanted nothing more to do with the witches but he was going to deal with it. He was something of the sort. He was a fire flower.

He snorted at his own joke and that drew the attention of his friends. He shook his head and waved it away. His head almost slammed his head into the dashboard when Terrence hit the brakes quickly. He wanted to curse his friend but the other three were scrambling from the car. He followed them. He could smell the fire burning.

As quietly as they could, they stalked towards the flames. Stiles led the way. It was as if the fire was pulling him towards it. The others didn't say anything to him. They must have seen his hands glowing. He felt like Iron Man with his palms looking like lights. He took a deep breath and peeked around a large tree.

Scott and Isaac peeked around a tree to his left. Scott inhaled sharply then ducked back behind the tree. Stiles took his chance to look and his reaction was the same. It wasn't only his dad that was there. Isaac's reaction was much the same. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"This is bad," Scott whispered.

"Nah, really? I wouldn't have guessed," Stiles replied. Whenever he got scared or angry, his mouth ran. He was both right now and he had a feeling that his mouth was going to get him caught. "I figured my dad being taken was the worst thing, and it is. But now I have to save one of my teachers? And let's not forget how the man tried to humiliate the two of us. Why should we save him?"

"Because he's our teacher, Stiles. And no one deserves to die like the others."

"There's not going to be saving him," Terrence said. They looked at him. "Use your heightened senses. You'll understand what I mean."

Scott and Isaac took deep breaths and their faces fell even more. Stiles read it in their faces. Harris was already dead and there was nothing they could do about it. Terrence let out a curse and they all turned back to see what was going on. Keilani was drawing some sort of symbol on John's bare chest. Stiles flinched when he realized it was blood,

"What time is it?" he asked. His eyes were huge and blue and he was losing control.

"It's ten till midnight," Isaac replied.

"We can't wait on the others. We don't have time. We just have to hope that they get here as soon as they can." He turned to the only human among them. "Whatever you do, don't use your powers until you're certain there's nothing else for you to do. They don't know you're supernaturally equipped. We want to keep it that way for as long as possible."

Stiles didn't have a chance to agree or disagree as Terrence stepped from around the tree and fired a warning shot above Keilani's head. He flinched when he realized how close it had been to his dad. Isaac and Scott split up and went in different directions so they could surround the two. It wasn't going to work because at the last minute several more people jumped into the fight. They were outnumbered three to one and it didn't seem that anything would help them.

He was yanked from the tree he was hiding behind and tossed into the fray. He wasn't armed and he wasn't a werewolf. He couldn't automatically heal when he was hurt. He was still aching from the hellhounds attacking him during the game but he had to do something to stay alive. So he ran. Something buzzed past him and he figured it was magic, a spell of some sort.

Stiles let out a scream when he was jerked by his hurt shoulder. He hit the ground hard and tried to get up. A boot landed square in his ribs and he swore it was a steel-toed. He rolled to keep the next kick from connecting with his already smarting side. He heard other fights going on around him and was certain that they weren't going to get very far.

"Where the hell are they?" he heard Isaac bite out.

"I don't know," Scott replied. "But they better get here soon. We can't take much more of this."

They were getting hit by spell after spell. Stiles seemed to be immune but the others weren't so lucky. He saw Scott pull his arms up to fend them off but it didn't work. A bolt of electricity hit him and his body convulsed. Isaac wasn't faring any better. He was getting hit with punches and kicked that he should have been able to block. He was trying and was making some leeway when four vines sprouted from the ground and grabbed him. He was pulled spread eagle into the air.

Stiles had to turn around completely to find Terrence. He was pinned against the wall with his own knife. The ones attacking him were using his knives he had brought to make tiny little cuts that would heal instantly. It was torture.

He had only one chance. He got to his feet as quickly as he could and ran towards his dad. He was stopped by Keilani. She simply held her hand out and he was floating.

"Lovely. Two for the price of one," she said. She flung her wrist and he went flying into the nearest tree. "I wonder what your lovely little handler would say."

Stiles smiled as he struggled against his invisible restraints. It wasn't magic so he wasn't immune. "You know you obviously don't know what a handler is. A handler is someone who knows how to curb your powers, your anger, your sexual desires, whatever you need. I obviously have no handler, but you could use one. This whole revenge against Derek thing is getting old. Too many people want revenge against Derek. I mean what the hell has the guy done to deserve so much hatred? He seems pretty cool me."

The restraints around him tightened. She hated Derek for a reason. He grunted as he felt the invisible restraints agitate his hurting ribs.

There was snarling behind him. Then the bushes erupted and the foul smelling dogs came into view. They were followed by a huge werewolf. The female werewolf of the Alpha Pack showed up and took on the men carving up Terrence. Deucalion and Thierry came out of the woods next. The Alpha Pack leader was holding on to the woman's arm. When he let her go, she charged the tree he was tied to. Keilani dodged to one side.

"You think that was supposed to hurt me?" the witch laughed.

Stiles was now beside the werewolf so he could see the sardonic smile that came over her face. "I'm not the one you should be worried about."

Keilani tilted her head in confusion seconds before Derek tackled her. He growled when she faced him. He was angry and she didn't understand why.

"You think you're the big bad wolf now? Well you don't scare me. Remember what happened to the big bad wolf in the story," she said.

"You know in the newer versions of Red Riding Hood, Red is the wolf. You might be killed as well," Stiles said. Everyone looked at him. "What? My mom always told me fairy tales."

Keilani looked dreamy. "Your mom. She was a wonderful person. Too bad she died too early."

Derek wrapped his hand around her throat. "What did you do?"

"What do you think I did? Because if you think I killed the woman, you would be right."

Stiles' world did a one eighty. The breath left his body and his mind went blank. There was nothing he could say because shock was too evident in his reality. She had killed his mother.

Scott broke the silence. "Guys, stop the mom. She's still chanting."

In all of the hubbub of the Alphas jumping into the fray they had forgotten that Keilani's mother was chanting away by the fire. Keilani was the diversion. Amelia was the one who knew what was going on.

Thierry ran as fast as she could, the hellhounds at her side. As she was going to jump over the fire to get to John, Amelia finished her chant and the flames blew higher. It knocked her back. And the ground began to rumble. Keilani started laughing as Stiles' restraints fell away.

A few seconds later, the fire died down. The hellhounds were feeding on Amelia's dead body. John had fallen from his restraints. Stiles started crawling to him but stopped when he started moving. Slowly his dad rose to his feet. When his head came up and his eyes opened, it wasn't his dad.

"What the hell?" Isaac asked as he kneeled next to Thierry. "What is that?"

"It's a demon," she replied.

"No, honey," John said, except it wasn't his voice. "I'm not a demon. I'm the devil himself."

"He's the god of the underworld," Terrence muttered.

"How do we save him?" Scott asked.

"I don't know."


	11. Chapter 11

Stiles wasn't laughing anymore. Usually when he got hurt in a situation like this, he would say a snide comment and laugh it off. This was not one of those times. He was watching his friends stand in fear of his father. This person in front of them was so not his father. He didn't want to hurt him but he knew he couldn't let his friends get hurt.

Keilani looked smug from across the fire. None of them understood what her endgame was but they knew she was gunning for them. Stiles looked at Isaac as he pulled Thierry to her feet. They were talking to each other. It seemed Isaac was trying to convince Thierry to do something but she was having none of it. They walked back to the group as they kind of assembled together.

"What should we do?" Scott asked.

"Kill him," Deucalion said.

Stiles felt his mouth fly open as he tried to wrap his head around what was just said. Scott looked the same and he bet he felt the same. John Stilinski had been the father he had never had. His dad had walked out on him and his mom several years before so it had been just Scott and Melissa. John helped discipline the kid whenever het got into too much trouble. Killing him would be the worst thing for either kid. It would hurt Scott but it would kill Stiles. He would also be an orphan.

"We're not killing John," the older twins said together. The power behind those words made everyone stop.

Deucalion smiled. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

The twins turned in on themselves and began talking in some sort of babble that even Stiles couldn't understand. Everyone tried to listen in but it was all Greek to them.

"So what you're thinking is if we call his name, we'll know where he derives his power," Thierry asked. Terrence nodded.

She got this look on her face as she pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth. She tapped her fingers along her arm, the leather making a noise. Stiles was hoping that she could figure out a way to save his dad without killing him.

After what seemed like an eternity, Thierry grabbed Ethan and hauled him over to the fire. Stiles had a moment to wonder when the two Alphas had become friends. The last he remembered Ethan was mad at her for putting Danny in trouble. Why would they ban together now and fight for his dad.

Then he realized she had made a deal with the Alpha Pack for their help. He wanted to punch a tree. She was always doing stupid things to make sure they were all safe without any thought about herself. His mind went back to Terrence's earlier statement about putting the needs of the many above the needs of the few.

He ran his hands through his short cropped hair then yelled, "I don't understand you!"

"You're not meant to!" she called back. It was as if she knew he was going to call her out on it.

They watched the two walk around the fire. Aidan looked pained as his twin worked with someone other him. It was the same with Terrence. The twins didn't usually work with other partners, but that was what expected. If they could kill expectation, they might have the upper hand.

Terrence started pairing people up. Derek was paired with Stiles. The two looked at each other as the meaning hit them hard. Terrence wasn't expecting his sister to live through this. He was pairing them together so Derek would protect the man who could control his mate's wolf. Stiles felt his throat clog up with cotton.

They were making a plan when the fire fanned higher. Ethan landed first and skidded to a stop. He left a nice skid mark in the dirt. Thierry had more grace as she was thrown back. She turned her body in midair and landed on her feet. Her blond hair was messy when she tossed it over her shoulder as her head came up. She pivoted on one foot and looked at Ethan. He nodded then moved to stand up.

"We have a plan," he said as he turned to the rest of them.

"Does it involve groups?" Scott asked. He'd been paired with Kali and didn't like it one bit. He just didn't trust her.

"Partly. He's Welsh," Thierry said.

Terrence nodded. "Arawn, the god of the underworld. Hellhounds are supposed to listen to him. What are you going to do?"

"I haven't thought that far yet."

"We need to take Keilani out," Derek said. "She's the source of his power."

"No, we can't do that just yet. We have to send him back. We have to get Stiles close enough to lay his hands on his father. It's the only way."

Stiles shook his head. "I can't do this."

"You can face down a Kanima in a pool of water but you can't face down your own father?"

"It's not my dad. It's some idiot taking over his body. Plus the girl killed my mother."

"Then avenge her," Terrence said. "Thierry's already going to kill her for making our brother her pawn in a sick game. You might as well jump in the fun."

"I don't want to kill anyone. I just want my dad back. I want to go home and take care of him after this because he won't believe that he was taken over by a crazy god of the underworld. I didn't ask for any of this and neither did he."

"No one asks for it. We're just thrown into it."

Thierry shook her head and turned back towards the fight. Ethan stood with her. They still hated each other but they had people they wanted to protect. Scott and Kali stepped up with them. Deucalion and Terrence moved as well. Isaac and Aidan hung back with their backs to Stiles and Derek.

As a group they jumped into battle. It reminded Stiles of the Power Rangers he used to watch when he was a kid. There were two women and six men. It was exactly like the action adventure show he watched. Except this group of people was a rag tag team who had teamed up to stop someone who threatened all of them. In a few days they would return to being enemies.

They looked as if they were getting beaten but the teams didn't stop what they were doing. They kept going back for more and defending each other. Stiles made a sound in the back of his throat when Ethan grabbed Thierry's hand and slung her around. It looked as if he had done it because he was mad at her. When she snapped her foot out and connected with his dad's face, he understood. They were using each other to battle the idiots.

Stiles wanted to help but there was nothing he could do. He had been told to stay back and wait until the time was right. What was the right moment? How was he supposed to know? Was he supposed to wait until one of them turned on him? That couldn't be good. He didn't want his friends to kill him. He didn't want his dad to die. He didn't want to die.

He heard all the sounds of battle. He hated those sounds. He'd grown to familiar to them in the last few months. Hell, the last year. He was losing his touch if he couldn't even figure out how to save someone he loved.

The mismatched twins were thrown back. Derek shoved his face down into the dirt as they flew over him. They both turned as the two struggled to get up. Thierry looked at Ethan but the teen couldn't lift his head. She was having issues standing up as well. A couple of their limbs were at odd angles but they were healing as quickly as they could.

The other groups were also thrown back. There was a collective groan as everyone tried to pull themselves to their feet. The Alpha Pack and Derek's pack were outmatched.

"Get up, Thierry," a random voice said from behind them. Thierry threw her head back and looked upside down. There was a guy sitting in a nearby tree. "Terrence, up." The twins looked at him. "Get up! No Alexander goes down without a fight."

"What are we supposed to do?" Terrence asked. "He's too strong."

"Use it."

"You always told us that it would kill everyone in the vicinity. You said to never do it," Thierry replied.

"Forget what I said! Do you want to lose your lives? Do you want to lose your mates? Think of them. What would happen if you died without a fight? Do you think they could face your dead corpses in the funeral home? They'll think of you as the twins who couldn't save the ones that mattered most."

Stiles had no idea what to think. He had no idea what was going on. Who was this guy? And why was he provoking the twins? They had fought hard for this pack. They had tried their hardest to get his dad back, so why would someone yell at them.

"Stiles?" He looked over his shoulder at Thierry as she pulled herself up using a tree. "When we say, control the fire. Make a barrier then go after your dad. Save him. Only you can do it."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You're the spark, kid," Terrence said.

Stiles looked up into the tree. "This makes no sense! Why are you doing this?"

"Have you ever wondered where werewolves originated? Have you ever wondered what happened to the first one or who he was?"

Derek stood, holding Stiles by the collar. "You're Joseph. You're the Alpha that raised Terrence and Thierry." The other man inclined his head in acknowledgement. "What are they doing?"

"The original werewolf that brought on the legends that aren't actually legends was born in the Middle Ages. He was of Slavic descent. He is also the ancestor of the two you see before you. The original werewolf had a second skill set. The twins were born with the same thing."

Stiles turned. Terrence and Thierry had stopped and were listening to Keilani and the man who was supposed to be his dad laugh. They were focused. He watched as they looked down at the ground then at each other. Terrence held his hand out to Thierry. She smiled slightly then took it.

A bright light erupted around them as they took a step forward. The ground rumbled and vines exploded from its depths. They raced towards Keilani, wrapping around her legs, arms, neck and waist. They started to squeeze. With a dramatic snap, she was torn into seven pieces.

Thierry broke the chain first. When her hands snapped down to her side, the vines wrapped around her wrist and formed a blade. Stiles nearly yelled when she took a shot at the shell of his dad. She missed his vitals, going for the arm instead. Terrence came in with his own weapon, a lance.

"They're harnessing nature," Ethan said. He had finally pulled himself up and was sitting at Stiles' feet. "I didn't know werewolves could do that."

"Only a select few can. They're usually descended from a werewolf who was able to do so."

Stiles flinched when his dad flung Terrence away from him. He lost his cool when Thierry was slammed against a tree and her weapon was shoved through her right shoulder. Stiles figured it was time that he stepped up to help his friends. He tied to wrench his shoulder from Derek's grip but the werewolf was stout. He wasn't going anywhere.

"Let the boy go, Hale," Joseph said from his perch.

Derek looked up at him, frowning at the one leg he had brought up to his chest. "Why should I? You've seen what this guy can do? Why would I watch the kid get killed?"

"Let him go. Let him know that he can defend himself."

Stiles was surprised when the pressure on his shoulder was gone. Derek had dropped his hand. Scott made a noise and tried to pull himself up. Stiles shook his head at him. He needed to do this on his own.

"Wait!" Cora and Boyd bounded out of the trees and stopped beside him. "Everyone else is down. Let us be your backup."

"Derek's safe. He didn't fight and I won't let him fight for me. Go stand with him," he replied.

"You need someone to help you take the twins down from the trees they're pinned to. Let us help."

He looked at Cora's face then at Derek's. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was terrified of losing his sister ad mate at the same time. He fidgeted enough for Stiles to know that he was itching for him to say no. In reality, Stiles could use the backup so he could get close to the creature controlling his dad's body.

"Isaac, can you stand?" he asked.

"If you're asking if I can help, yeah. I can help," the other guy replied. He pushed to his feet, wobbling a little. He grabbed the tree and balanced himself. When he was able to walk a little ways, he cracked a smile. "Cora, stay with Derek. I don't think he can take you getting hurt when he's helpless."

Stiles watched the female werewolf look at her brother. He was certain she could read Derek's emotions clearly. Then she looked at Thierry and Terrence pinned to their respective trees. They were trying to pull their weapons loose but failing. She gasped when they finally gave up and slumped against the trunks. She walked up to him and braced her hands on his shoulders.

"Bring them back to us in one piece," she said.

Stiles nodded. He turned to Isaac and Boyd. They nodded at him and flanked him as he walked past. The thing controlling his dad's body looked at him and laughed. The flames rose higher as if he were protecting himself. With his attention on the kid, it gave the werewolves time to get their pack mates. Derek, Cora and even Joseph winced when the twins screamed as their weapons were wrenched from their bodies. Boyd pulled Terrence down by his tree as Isaac did the same with Thierry. They watched Stiles continuing his advance on his dad.

"Dad?" he said cautiously. "Dad, it's me Stiles."

The guy laughed at him. "I'm not your dad. Although he is in here. He wants you to leave and forget about him."

"I refuse to leave you. Do you remember the night Mom died? You left the hospital and came to Scott's house to tell me. We went for caramel sundaes. You told me mom had died. You said there wasn't anything we could do. She had been too sick to fight it off. You said you did all that you could."

His throat felt as if he had stuffed four cotton balls down it. He was having a hard time talking but he had to get it out. He had to bring his dad around so he could do what he needed to do. He took as deep a breath as he could get and went on.

"I was devastated. You let me stay home a week from school because you knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate. You even let me eat what I wanted. But it couldn't last. I had to go back to school and you had to go back to work. You and Scott were the only two who understood. Every night you'd pick me up from Scott's. You'd let me go over there so I wouldn't be alone all day. Even when I had panic attacks, you were right there for me."

Stiles was inching his way closer as he spoke. When his mouth fell silent, the flames in front of him leapt even higher. He held his hands up to keep his face from being burnt. He wanted to save his dad.

Thinking the flames were going to burn him alive, he stepped right up to them. The heat was unbearable, but instead of making him feel as if he were going to burn alive, he felt invigorated. He opened his eyes and looked around. The fire wasn't burning him at all. In fact it was pulsing like it was reacting to him. He lifted his hand and the flames followed his hand. He made a noise of shock then laughed.

"Stiles!" Isaac yelled from his left. "Hurry up! I think he may have done something to their weapons."

He looked to his friends. Even from his vantage point, he could see the fine sheen of sweat on his friends' skin.

"Did you poison them?" he asked.

The man who was supposed to be his dad smiled. "It's amazing what a little mountain ash can do to werewolves."

Angry, Stiles flung his hands out. The fire followed his circular motion. When the circle was closed he walked up to the man. He landed one punch square on his jaw. That was it. His dad's body grabbed him and held him in a full nelson. He fought to get out but it only got tighter.

"Stiles!" It was Isaac again. He sounded desperate. "Call his name! Names have power! Call his name!"

"I don't know it," he choked out. He wasn't certain anyone could hear him. He could barely hear his own voice as he tried to break out of his hold.

"Arawn! His name is Arawn!"

Stiles felt the arm around his throat flex and he knew they had him. "Release me now, Arawn."

With a roar his dad released him. He fell to the ground hard then turned. His dad had been used as a vessel for a god just so he could be brought to earth to exact his vengeance.

"Not your vengeance, but the Keilani's," he muttered to himself. "What did Keilani want done?"

"Why should I tell you?" Arawn asked.

There was growling behind him and to the side. Like the scene from the Lion King, the hellhounds stepped through the flames. They bowed their heads and growled at the god they once served. Thierry must have been controlling them to the best of her ability.

"Because you owe me that much."

"I don't owe you anything."

"You're using my dad's body. You owe me."

"Keilani summoned me because of your mother. Your mother knew what she was and got her family kicked out of the town. She blamed Charles' death on her. She was right of course but Keilani and her mother didn't want them to know that."

Stiles understood too well. "They wanted Charles to be your vessel. Their sacrifices didn't count though, did they?"

"No, they gave me crappy people. I wanted pure innocents."

"Then why kill Harris?"

"He was the one who told them how to summon me. I couldn't allow him to live after that. Just like I can't allow you to live now."

Stiles rolled under the man's arm as it came over his head. He winced as he dug his shoulder into the ground, but he didn't have time to think about it. He pivoted then shot up. His hands splayed over his dad's heart and face. He felt his hands heat up as the marks went to work.

The god inhabiting his dad's body fought and snarled at him to dislodge him, but Stiles held firm. He pressed his hands even harder into his dad's body. He could feel the power of the fire flower pulsing through him. The flames leapt even higher and the hellhounds growled. He felt the power flow through his hands and into his dad's body.

"Arawn, I send you back to the pits of hell from whence you came," he said.

There was a loud rumble and the earth opened up once again. His dad's mouth opened and a silvery mist emerged. It hovered for a few seconds then was sucked down into the abyss. The earth closed up once again. The flames died down as John fell forward. Stile caught his dad and held him close. He took a deep breath and held back a shuddering sob. Now wasn't the time to lose it. He had saved his dad. He should be happy, but something felt off.

Boyd walked over with one of Terrence's arms slung over his shoulder. Terrence was smiling at him, eyes bright blue as his body healed. Isaac came over with Thierry cradled in his arms. He couldn't tell if she was conscious or not. The rest of the group filtered over. Joseph was a pleasant surprise. He was tall, maybe just a little south of six foot five, with sandy blond hair that was touched with silver. He had bright blue eyes that looked like Terrence and Thierry's wolf eyes but his were completely human.

Deucalion and his group walked immediately over to Isaac. The kid shied away, turning his body to protect Thierry if she should need it.

"Now that we've helped you, hand the woman over," Deucalion said.

The curly headed werewolf stared at the blind werewolf then looked at Derek. In fact everyone was staring at the Alpha like Deucalion had lost his mind. Even Joseph seemed a little perturbed.

"Why would we give you my sister?" Terrence asked. He tried to move but Boyd jerked him to the side, gluing him against the teen.

"I made a deal with her. Now it's her time to pay up."

Stiles' mouth worked. He had worked so hard to get his dad back and now he was going to have to work to get Thierry. "Derek, you can't let him take her."

Derek looked torn. Stiles knew Thierry had been living by her code when she made the deal. She was trying to save their lives. It had been her only shot at getting the Alpha Pack to help.

Derek finally looked at his Beta. "Give her to them."

Isaac's mouth worked as he tried to figure out something to say to keep her with them. When he came up with none, he looked at Joseph. The other Alpha couldn't do anything. Though he technically had jurisdiction if he needed to, he wasn't going to interfere. Finally Isaac handed Thierry over to Aidan. The other werewolf held her as gently as he could. He was still healing his injuries.

Derek grabbed Ethan's arm as he passed by. "If you so much as hurt one hair on her head, I will rip you limb from limb."

Ethan jerked his arm back and smirked. "As long as she doesn't attack me first."

Stiles didn't have time to think much about what was going on. His dad needed help and he was getting tired. Joseph seemed to recognize it and walked over to help. With a slight smile, he lifted John with ease and started for his car. Stiles watched the Alpha pack walk away with his friend. Derek clapped him on the shoulder in a silent way to keep him from going after them. He followed him back to the car so they could go to the hospital.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** It's the final chapter!

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Stiles listened for his dad to make sure he wasn't awake. He was still suffering from the affects of being possessed. For the last week he'd kept an insane migraine. He had enough vacation time to take off as long as he needed.

When he had been discharged from the hospital, Melissa had made a comment about the Stilinskis becoming permanent residence if they weren't careful. As another orderly wheeled his dad out, Scott's other stopped him and asked if everything was situated. He had had no answer her and that had been the worst about it. Melissa had nodded then asked about Thierry. Once again he'd had no answer. He hadn't seen her since the night they'd stopped everything.

He hated the Alpha Pack even more than he had before. Thierry wouldn't be with them if they hadn't come to town. He couldn't just blame them. He also had to blame her. She was the one who made a deal with them to get them to help against Keilani. He hadn't expected anything less but sometimes he wished people would think.

Deaton had called him out the day after his dad came home. He wanted to see how he controlled the flames. At first he wasn't able to do it but then he tapped into the power he had felt, the power of love and protection. The flame of the candle leapt to life then fizzled out when he waved his hand over it. Deaton and Scott had smiled at him but he hadn't felt much like smiling, not with everything going on.

Lydia had been coming over on a daily basis. Terrence had had a hard time healing after his body pushed the mountain ash out of his system. He was very growly and agitated so they didn't say much to him. Lydia kept him as calm as she could. She was still slightly angry with him for leaving her at home but when he explained, she calmed own. He was still suffering. It was the twin thing that no one could understand.

The strangest thing was Derek stayed most the nights at the Stilinski house. Cora had called Stiles and told him that her brother was suffering even more than they were. Alphas were very sensitive to their mates' well being. If Derek was feeling unease, Stiles wondered why he wasn't.

He didn't say much when walked into his bedroom to find Derek sprawled out across his bed. If he was sleeping in a house he barely knew, something definitely was wrong. He had pressed into the bond to see if he could feel what was going on, but he came up empty handed. There was nothing there to tell him what was going on and that scared him more than anything.

When Terrence finally came around, he volunteered to watch over John when Stiles had to run out. With random werewolves coming into his home every night to make sure their Alpha and human friend was okay, they were running out of food. He had to go grocery shopping for a mass amount of food to keep everyone fed.

One night they moved the pack meeting to his house. Scott and Isaac helped cook as the others did their normal routine. Peter had been a grump because he hadn't been invited to fight the big bad witches. He'd nearly lost his head to every person in the house when he made a comment about Thierry. Terrence was the first on to him with Derek as a close second. Isaac rounded out the pack, but it was Joseph who caused the most trouble. Everyone had been surprised when the Alpha of all Alphas grabbed the oldest Hale by the throat and lifted him off the floor. Peter had shut up instantly.

The next surprise was Deaton and Melissa for dinner. Scott had known they were coming but had conveniently forgotten to mention it. Deaton had been surprised to see Scott's mother but didn't question it. Dinner had been an uneventful affair. Everyone sat around the living room talking and eating as if nothing had ever happened. But there was an elephant in the room. They all knew someone was missing.

Stiles walked down the stairs. His dad and Terrence were in the kitchen. He could smell breakfast being made and hoped that Terrence was sticking with his dad's diet. Ever since the thing in the woods, he'd made sure his dad was safe and eating healthy once again.

Terrence caught him as he walked into the kitchen. He dished out two pancakes and a thing of turkey bacon then handed the plate to John. Stiles' dad thanked him then started to eat slowly. He finally looked at the teen.

"You need to get over to Derek's," he said quietly so the sheriff wouldn't hear.

Stiles tilted his head in confusion. "Is everything okay? He wasn't at the here last night." Terrence sucked his lip in between his teeth. "What is it?"

"Thierry came home last night. She's in bad shape. You need to get over there now."

He didn't waste any time. He told his dad a quick goodbye then grabbed his car keys. Before the dust had settled in his driveway, Stiles was speeding towards Derek's. If he got a speeding ticket, it really didn't matter. He had somewhere to be yesterday and hadn't known.

His tires squealed as he slammed on the breaks in front of the depot. There was no point hiding his car. Everyone knew he was there. He slammed through the door and headed up the two flights of stairs. The front door Derek had put in to separate the other part of the building was no match for a desperate man. Peter was in the living room when he blew through the room. The oldest Hale said something then followed the teen.

Derek's bedroom door was the next door to suffer the wrath of angry Stiles. He was so mad that no one had called him when she came home. Isaac and Boyd turned to face him. One look at his face and they stepped aside. Cora and Scott were the next two in the way. He shoved at Scott and mumbled an excuse to Cora. Derek was sitting on the other side of the bed with his knee pulled up to his chest. He looked up. Normally he would have a snide comment to make but this time he was quiet.

Deaton and Allison were working quietly. Thierry lay there as their hands worked over her skin. She was beaten far worse than he thought was possible for a werewolf. He listened to Deaton as he talked Allison through certain areas of the damage. The Alpha they were working on looked up and her eyes met his. She tried to smile but it failed.

Stiles walked around the bed and sat beside Derek. The Alpha looked worse for wear. The entire pack seemed more like the pack he knew but they weren't quite there yet.

"Why didn't you tell me you were back, Thi?" he asked barely above a whisper.

"They left her on the doorstep," Cora replied. "It took me all night to clean up the blood."

"Deaton and the girl have been here since about six," Peter said. "It's worse than we thought they would do."

"Who was it?" Stiles asked. Thierry shook her head slightly. He pressed a hand to her leg and squeezed gently. She sucked in a cry and turned her head. Derek shoved him backwards into the floor. "What the hell was that for?"

"You know what that was for!" the Alpha roared. "It hurts when anyone touches her. That's why I'm sitting here."

"She won't give us the name," Isaac said. He was now leaning against the headboard, his hand trailing gently through Thierry's hair. She didn't flinch in pain. "We don't know if she promised them she wouldn't tell or if she just isn't speaking about it."

A horrible thought hit Stiles. He scrambled to the mattress and leaned against it so Deaton could see his face. "Please tell me they…" Everyone looked at him like he'd lost his mind. He took a deep breath and motioned with his hand. Derek's head snapped up, his eyes red. "Please."

Deaton shook his head. "No, we're all clear on that."

Both men gave a collective sigh then the room fell into silence. Every few seconds there was a hiss then Allison's soothing. Isaac's hand never stopped its repetitive stroke. Finally Deaton and Allison stepped back. Stiles took the chance to climb in the bed. Very carefully he placed his head on Thierry's shoulder. He heard Derek give a soft command and the room was cleared. The lights went out and the other side of the bed dipped.

"Why don't you tell us who did this?" Stiles asked.

"There's no point. It's all done," she replied. She turned her head into Derek's hip as he sat against the headboard.

"You can't let them get away with this," Derek said gently. He was running his fingers through her hair.

Stiles ran his fingers up her arm. "He's right."

"Let it go, guys."

Silence settled and Stiles felt his eyelids grow heavy. His breath evened out and he started to go under. He hadn't been this tired since he had been attacked. Not even watching his dad had made him this tired. He looked up at Derek. The Alpha looked worse than he did. Once the other guy settled down with his head against the pillows Stiles was able to let go.

Once when he opened his eyes because he felt warm, he looked down. The entire pack was in the room. Isaac and Cora were splayed across Derek and Thierry. Scott and Allison were curled up on the chaise lounge across the room. Boyd was on the window seat and Peter was in the chair by the door. The only ones missing were Lydia and Terrence but that was fine.

To make sure he wasn't dreaming, he looked to his side. Thierry was pressed against Derek. The Alpha had his arm slung around her shoulder with his face pressed into her hair. Stiles was laying against her shoulder. Derek's hand had been resting against his head. As if he knew the kid was thinking about him, Derek rubbed the back of his head.

"Go to sleep, kid. The pack's all safe," he said.

Stiles let his head fall back on Thierry's shoulder. He trusted Derek but listened to everyone breathe anyway. When he was certain no one was dying, he closed his eyes and let sleep take him once more.


End file.
